|
Division of Property/Monetary Awards
The distribution of property owned by a husband and wife whose marriage ends in divorce or annulment is dictated by the Marital Property Act. This Act provides for an equitable distribution of property between the spouses to account for monetary and nonmonetary contributions to the marriage. “Property” includes assets and liabilities, real property (i.e., your house), and tangible and intangible personal property such as pensions, businesses, and coin collections, among many others. Since Maryland law prohibits courts from transferring ownership of property or real property from one spouse to another, compensation to a spouse for their contribution in the marital property is through a monetary award.
In order to win a monetary award from a divorce or annulment, certain requirements must be met:
1. A marriage must have existed. This means that there must be a union between a man and a woman who are living as “man and wife.” Unmarried cohabitation does not entitle anyone to a monetary award. The marriage, however, does not need to be valid. Finally, eventhough common law marriages entered into in Maryland are not recognized here, they will be recognized if contracted in and binding in another state.
2. A court must grant an absolute divorce or annulment. This is a prerequisite to granting any monetary award
3. The presence of some marital property. A court will designate what is marital property if there is a dispute as to which property exists as marital property. The general rule, however, is that whether certain property is marital property depends on whether it was acquired by one or both spouses while married. Therefore, even property acquired while separated, but before the divorce, can be considered marital property. Excluded as marital property is property acquired before marriage, acquired by inheritance or gift from a third-party, excluded by valid agreement, or property directly traceable to any of these sources.
4. The property must be valued. In order to determine the amount of monetary award, the value of all marital property must be determined. The value of property is generally assessed at the time a divorce is granted, not at the time of separation.
Further Information on Division of Property:
|
