Maryland Divorce Property Division

What the Law Says

Maryland courts divide marital property under an equitable distribution standard — the judge decides what's fair, which may or may not be 50/50.

Maryland uses a monetary-award system: rather than retitling property, the court values the marital property and may grant an equalizing monetary award under Md. Code, Fam. Law §8-205 after considering eleven statutory factors (§8-205(b)(1)-(11)) — the monetary and nonmonetary contributions of each party to the family's well-being; the value of all property interests; each party's economic circumstances; the circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties; the duration of the marriage; each party's age and physical and mental condition; how and when the property was acquired, including the effort expended by each party; contributions of nonmarital property to entireties real property; any alimony or family-use award; and any other necessary or appropriate factor. There is no presumption of equal division.

Division Factors (Md. Code, Fam. Law §8-205)

What Maryland courts weigh:

1. Contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family (§8-205(b)(1))
2. Value of all property interests of each party (§8-205(b)(2))
3. Economic circumstances of each party at the time the award is to be made (§8-205(b)(3))
4. Circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties (§8-205(b)(4))
5. Duration of the marriage (§8-205(b)(5))
6. Age of each party (§8-205(b)(6))
7. Physical and mental condition of each party (§8-205(b)(7))
8. How and when specific marital property or interest in property was acquired, including the effort expended by each party in accumulating the marital property or the interest (§8-205(b)(8))
9. Contribution by either party of nonmarital property to the acquisition of real property held by the parties as tenants by the entirety (§8-205(b)(9))
10. Any award of alimony and any award or other provision the court has made with respect to family use personal property or the family home (§8-205(b)(10))
11. Any other factor the court considers necessary or appropriate to arrive at a fair and equitable monetary award (§8-205(b)(11))

Common Questions