Contested Divorce in Maryland

A divorce is contested when the spouses cannot agree on one or more issues that the court must decide. That is a narrower definition than most people expect. A case is not contested because the divorce is painful, or because you disagree about who caused it. It is contested because there is a specific question, custody, support, alimony, or property, that has to be resolved by a judge if you cannot resolve it yourselves.

Most contested cases still settle before trial. The purpose of building a case properly is partly to win the issues that must be tried, and partly to reach a settlement on terms you can live with.

What people actually fight about

• Custody and parenting time. Decision making authority, the schedule, relocation, and the fitness questions that occasionally accompany them.
• Child support. Usually a dispute about income rather than about the formula, particularly where a parent is self employed or underemployed.
• Alimony. Whether any is owed, how much, for how long, and whether the standard for indefinite alimony is met.
• Property characterization. Whether an asset is marital, non-marital, or partly both after years of commingling.
• Valuation. What a business, professional practice, pension or piece of real estate is actually worth.
• Disclosure and credibility. Cases where one spouse does not believe the other’s financial picture.

How a contested case is built

Temporary relief

Contested cases take months, so the first practical question is often how the family functions in the meantime. A pendente lite hearing can set temporary custody, access, child support, spousal support and use of the family home. See temporary orders and pendente lite hearings.

The scheduling conference and case track

After the first answer is filed, the court holds a scheduling conference, identifies the contested issues and assigns a case management track based on complexity. The track drives the deadlines and the trial date. Cases involving extensive property, business valuation, or high conflict custody assessments are handled on the most complex track.

Discovery

Discovery is where contested cases are usually won or lost. Interrogatories, document requests, subpoenas to employers and financial institutions, and depositions establish what actually exists and what each party will say under oath. Where a business or pension is involved, experts may be retained to value it. See discovery and financial disclosure.

Custody evaluation and mediation

Baltimore County refers custody and visitation disputes to mediation, and in high conflict matters may order a custody evaluation or other assessment. These processes carry real weight and preparing for them properly matters. See mediation and negotiated settlement.

Settlement conference

Contested divorce, custody and visitation matters generally go to a settlement conference before the merits trial, often before a recalled judge who can put a settlement on the record. Counsel exchange draft marital property statements and child support guidelines in advance, which by itself often narrows the dispute.

Merits trial

If issues remain, the court hears evidence and decides. Length depends on complexity, from a hearing measured in hours to a multi day trial.

Settle or try the case?

This is a judgment call, not a principle. Trial makes sense when the other side’s position is unreasonable and provable, when disclosure has been incomplete, or when a child’s welfare requires a decision the other parent will not agree to. Settlement makes sense when the likely range of outcomes is known and the cost and unpredictability of trial outweigh the difference.

What no attorney can responsibly do is promise a result. Custody, alimony and monetary awards all rest on multi factor standards applied to particular facts.

Related topics

• The Maryland divorce process step by step
• Property and debt division
• High asset and business owner divorce
• Alimony and spousal support
• Custody and parenting plans

Official Maryland resources

• Maryland Courts, divorce
• Maryland Courts family law forms

Talk with a Towson family law attorney

Every divorce and custody matter turns on its own facts. The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC offers a free consultation so you can get straight answers about your situation before you decide what to do next.

Call (410) 847-9075 or request a consultation online. The office is at 1107 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 305, Towson, MD 21204.

This page provides general information about Maryland law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes, and how it applies depends on the facts of your case.