In a recent Maryland Daily Record article, New law allows divorce by consent but family law lawyers unsure of its long-term impact, Jeffrey Greenblatt discusses a new Maryland divorce law that may lead to faster divorces in some cases. Under the law, divorcing couples in Maryland without minor children, can now forego the state’s one-year separation requirement and file for divorce via a mutual settlement agreement.
By removing the 12-month separation requirement, lawmakers have provided an option for “divorce by mutual consent,” thus reducing the potential acrimony of a trial and burden of a 12-month waiting period. According to Greenblatt, “Anyone who is able to come to an agreement is going to be able to get out of the marriage almost instantly. I don’t think it is going to make people who are not already predisposed to resolving their differences to move any more quickly. It’s not going to change people who want to fight. If they want to fight, they’re going to fight.”
Couples with minor children do not qualify under the new law and must still wait the 12-month period of separation before filing for divorce. For more information on the new law, or questions about divorcing in Maryland, contact Jeffrey Greenblatt at jgreenblatt@jgllaw.com.
