Getting Divorced
Fam. Law § 7-103 — 6 months apart, irreconcilable differences, or mutual consent
- A 6 month separation: living separate and apart without interruption for 6 months before filing, which can be under the same roof if the two pursued separate lives.
- Irreconcilable differences, on the reasons the filing spouse gives for ending the marriage permanently.
- Mutual consent: a written settlement signed by both that resolves alimony, property, and the care, custody and support of any children, which neither moves to set aside before the hearing and which the court finds is in the children's best interests.
Those are the grounds on which a Maryland court may grant an absolute divorce. Recrimination, one spouse's own fault, is not a bar to any of them.
If the grounds arose outside Maryland, one spouse has to have lived in the State for at least 6 months before filing.
Sources for this section (2)
- Md. Code, Fam. Law § 7-103 — Grounds for absolute divorce
- Md. Code, Fam. Law § 7-101 — Residency for divorce
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Maryland attorney.