Separation Agreements

What Maryland Law Says About Making (or Receiving) a Marital Settlement Offer Contingent on Acceptance Deadline

August 12, 2024 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Most of us have seen or heard advertisements or sales pitches imploring audiences to “act now” or that an offer is “for a limited time only.” These approaches are common in motivating prospective buyers of appliances, furniture, or vehicles to act. But what about… a spouse in a divorce settlement negotiation? What should you do if you receive an offer that severely restricts your time to respond? One thing you definitely should do before you sign, whether the agreement you are contemplating has a fast-approaching deadline or no signing deadline at all, is to speak to an experienced Maryland divorce lawyer who can give you the advice you need before you make a decision.

A long-running divorce battle from Anne Arundel County offers insight into these settlement agreements and how the courts treat them.

The spouses, T.P. and D.P., began divorce proceedings in 2019 after three years of marriage. After the spouses “engaged in extensive settlement negotiations,” the wife’s attorney sent the husband’s counsel a finalized marital settlement agreement on Sept. 25, 2020. The correspondence that the wife’s counsel attached to the proposed agreement indicated that the offer was valid only if the husband signed and returned the completed agreement that same day.

Fraud in Your Maryland Divorce Case and the Importance of Having Skilled Legal Representation

February 15, 2024 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

As family law attorneys, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to divorce litigation. One unfortunate scenario that occurs regrettably often is a spouse who receives divorce papers from his/her spouse but decides to proceed with the divorce without legal counsel. This choice can have seriously damaging consequences, both financially and otherwise. Don’t make that mistake; instead, retain an experienced Maryland divorce lawyer to be the effective advocate you need.

A divorce case from Annapolis is a strong cautionary tale in this regard. The husband’s complaint alleged that both spouses mutually agreed not to seek alimony and that the spouses had “no marital property or debts that need to be decided by the court.”

At a virtual hearing in 2021, the magistrate judge asked if the spouses had resolved all their issues and distributed all their property. The spouses — neither of whom had attorneys — said yes. The magistrate explained that the spouses’ answers constituted a waiver, meaning “you cannot come back to the [c]ourt at a later date and ask the [c]ourt to grant your relief.” The magistrate asked if the spouses understood, and again both spouses said yes.

Equity and Judicial Discretion in Maryland Divorce Cases

December 15, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

A lot of people, when they hear the phrase “equitable” in connection with a divorce case, immediately think “50-50.” That’s not necessarily true. The law actually gives trial courts broad discretion in deciding what is (or is not) equitable, whether that means distributing assets and/or debt obligations evenly or ordering something different. Given the judge’s substantial discretionary power, it is vital to have a knowledgeable Maryland divorce lawyer on your side, you that you can be confident that the judge has all the information necessary to accurately decide was is a just outcome.

As noted above, a division is not always 50-50. As an example, there’s this divorce-related case from Brookeville.

The spouses worked out a marital settlement agreement in early 2015 that said that the wife would receive the exclusive “use and possession” of the marital home for three years. After that 36-month period elapsed (or if the wife remarried earlier,) the agreement dictated that the home would be listed for sale.

Contempt of Court and Who Has (and Who Doesn’t Have) a Right of Appeal in a Maryland Unpaid Alimony Dispute

January 31, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

If you have an alimony obligation and your ex-spouse is seeking to have you held in contempt of court, this is a very serious matter that you should treat accordingly. If a court declares you in contempt, you could be ordered to pay fines or even jailed. This requires serious countermeasures, including retaining the services of an experienced Maryland family law attorney.

P.R. was a Montgomery County husband facing that type of potential legal consequence. He and his wife divorced in May 2017. Three months prior, the spouses signed a marital settlement agreement that called for the husband to pay the wife non-modifiable alimony for a period of 10 years.

In 2020, the spouses became embroiled in a dispute over $6,350 in court-ordered attorney’s fees that the wife owed the husband. The husband took that $6,350 out of his alimony payments over a period of nine months.

Pursuing a Finding of Contempt of Court in Maryland When Your Ex-Spouse Has Not Met Their Alimony Obligation

January 17, 2023 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Unpaid alimony matters are intensely fact-driven, meaning that your case can be much more successful if your judge has all the facts and is presented with all the circumstances regarding your ex-spouse’s non-compliance. If your ex-spouse isn’t living up to their alimony obligations, you can (and should) seek relief from the courts. And you should act promptly in contacting a knowledgeable Maryland unpaid alimony lawyer about protecting your rights.

The alimony case of F.S. and S.M. was a dispute that involved a large sum of unpaid alimony. The spouses, who divorced after 30 years of marriage, worked out a property settlement agreement that included an alimony provision. The agreement set the initial alimony amount at $1,500 but said that, if the wife no longer lived in the marital home, the amount of alimony was $3,250 per month.

The wife moved out in September 2016.

In December 2019, the wife asked the court to find the husband in contempt because he had not paid his alimony. Before the trial judge, the husband argued that he never agreed to anything regarding alimony in the separation agreement. After the hearing, the court concluded that the husband was in contempt, having never paid any alimony. The court set the husband’s unpaid alimony amount at $130,750.

When Your Spouse Can (and Can’t) Get Alimony in Maryland Even After Your Both Signed an Agreement Waiving the Right to Alimony

April 29, 2022 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

When you decide to enter into a prenuptial agreement or a marital settlement agreement, there are several critical phases. There’s the phase where you and the other party negotiate the terms of the agreement, and you work to ensure that all the terms adequately protect your interests. There’s also the phase where you and the other party execute the agreement, and you work to ensure that the document you sign matches the bargain you struck during the negotiation phase. Finally, there may be a phase where you have to litigate to enforce the agreement and get the benefit of the contract you signed. At each of these phases, your chances of getting the fairest possible outcome can be enhanced by having legal representation from an experienced Maryland spousal support (alimony) lawyer.

That’s because, at any phase, things can go astray from what you wanted… and executed.

For example, there’s the alimony case of X.L. and H.L., a couple who, in March 2016, worked out a prenuptial agreement. In that document, both spouses agreed to waive the right to receive alimony in the event of separation or divorce. They married one month later.

Alimony Provisions and Modification Triggers in Maryland Separation Agreements

March 31, 2022 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

For many couples, separation agreements are very useful tools. If you go that route, it’s important to make sure that your separation agreement is sufficiently detailed in all areas. For example, with alimony, it’s not enough to say “how much” and “for how long,” but also to address things like “when may the supporting spouse seek modification?” An experienced Maryland divorce lawyer can help you with negotiating and executing an agreement that is fair, complete, and clear.

Of course, even once you’ve done that, there may be pitfalls. For example, what happens if your spouse, who owes you alimony, experiences a non-permanent downturn in his income? Often, a temporary dip in income is not enough to lead to a reduction in your alimony but it depends on the exact wording of your separation agreement. A knowledgeable legal advocate can be essential in protecting your right to receive alimony.

Take, for example, the alimony case of C.T., a successful anesthesiologist, and his wife, R.L. They separated in 2015 and, three years later, worked out a separation agreement. That document called for the husband to pay alimony of $6,000 per month for 47 months, and then pay a lesser sum for the next 88 months.

What to Do When Your Spouse Has Improperly Thwarted Your Rights Under the Terms of Your Maryland Separation Agreement

August 16, 2021 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

For many Marylanders going through a divorce, resolving issues through a separation agreement may seem like a good idea and, indeed, it very often is. It is not enough, though, simply to create an agreement; you need to be sure the agreement you get is the right agreement for you, and you need to be sure you are positioned to receive the benefits of the terms you negotiated. To do all of these things, you need an experienced Maryland divorce lawyer by your side every step of the way.

Cases from the courts in this state clearly highlight how, even after you’ve negotiated and executed a good agreement, your work may not yet be done. Take a look at this real-life divorce dispute from Baltimore County. The husband, an equine veterinarian, and the wife, a horseback riding instructor/polo coach, owned a farm in Freeland. When the horse-loving couple divorced, they executed a “Separation and Property Settlement Agreement,” which established several terms to which the spouses agreed.

Concerning the distribution of the farm they jointly owned, the contract set out four possible options, in order: (1) the wife buys out the husband, (2) if the wife declines, the husband could buy out the wife’s interest, (3) if both spouses decline, then the property could be sold by a real estate agent, or (4) the farm would be sold via a judicial sale.

My Spouse and I Signed a Separation Agreement in Maryland, Then Reconciled. Now We’re Getting Divorced. What Happens to Our Agreement?

May 14, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

There are countless ways that an experienced Maryland family law attorney can help you in your divorce case, whether your case is straightforward or complex. If your situation is “unconventional,” it may require an especially in-depth and nuanced understanding of the law in order to get you to a positive outcome. A skilled attorney can give your unconventional circumstance the legal knowledge and insight it needs.

J.L. and L.L. were an Anne Arundel County couple whose marriage “was, by all accounts, rather unconventional,” according to the Court of Special Appeals. They married in 1988, but separated a few years later. They worked out a separation agreement in the summer of 1995. However, sometime after signing that document, the pair would resume living together and would continue living and working together on an on-again-off-again basis for several more years.

The wife eventually filed for divorce in 2015. In her divorce filing, the wife asked the judge to enforce the settlement agreement the spouses created in 1995. The husband asked the judge to throw out the separation agreement, arguing that the couple had reconciled after their initial separation and that their reconciliation rendered the agreement unenforceable.

What Can I Do if I Think my Maryland Marital Settlement Agreement is not Reasonable?

July 29, 2019 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

The days and weeks that immediately follow the breakup of your marriage can be an incredibly trying time. You may feel hurt, confused, angry, frightened, overwhelmed, betrayed and a host of other emotions. You’ve experienced a great trauma, and like anyone living through that kind of pain, you may not be at your best in terms of decision-making. That includes making decisions like signing a marital settlement agreement. This is just one reason among the many why it pays to have a skilled Maryland divorce attorney on your side. You can trust your attorney to handle your legal affairs while you concentrate on managing your life.

Even if you’ve not heeded that advice, have made a bad decision by signing a bad settlement agreement without consulting an attorney, and later come to conclude that were taken advantage of, you still may have options. As one recent case illustrated, depending on just how extremely one-sided your marital settlement agreement was, you may be able to get it invalidated as ‘unconscionable’ under Maryland law.

In the recent case, the husband, G., and the wife, J., were married for six years when they separated in early 2015. Only a few days after the pair parted ways, the husband gave the wife a proposed marital settlement agreement, which the husband’s attorney had drafted. The agreement gave the husband the marital home, two rental properties, two cars, two motorcycles and all of the retirement accounts. The wife got a one-time payment of $7,000. Additionally, the agreement stated that the wife forever waived her right ever to pursue an alimony claim, either rehabilitative or permanent.