Divorce in Maryland ─ The Legal Process, Your Rights, and What to Expect

Providing accurate and objective information to help make the right decisions during a divorce in Maryland, this guide provides answers to 350 queries such as What is the mediation process in Maine and is it required? How quickly can one get a divorce? Who decides who gets the cars, the pets, and the house? What actions might influence child custody? How are bills divided and paid during the divorce? How much will a divorce cost? and Will a spouse have to pay some or all attorney fees? Structured in a question-and-answer format, this divorce handbook provides clear and concise responses to help build confidence and give the peace of mind needed to meet the challenges of a divorce proceeding.

Marjorie G. DiLima, J.D., MBA, LLM, is the managing partner with the firm of Fait & DiLima, LLP, in Rockville, Maryland. She has practiced law in Maryland for twenty years. She graduated cum laude from Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, while earning her MBA from St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She earned her LLM in taxation from Georgetown School of Law in Washington, D.C. Ms. DiLima is a member of the Family Law Section Council of the Maryland Bar Association. Ms. DiLima is a member of the Montgomery County, Maryland State, and Women’s Bar Associations. She is in her third year serving on the Family Juvenile Law Section Council for Maryland State Bar Association and heads the Rules subcommittee. Ms. DiLima served on the Executive Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association for three separate terms and currently serves on the Bench Bar Committee for the Montgomery County Bar Association. She is past president and currently a bencher (lifetime position) in the American Inns of Court in the Montgomery County Chapter. Ms. DiLima also participates in peer review panels for the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland. Ms. DiLima also serves as an adjunct professor at Montgomery College, teaching family law to paralegal studies students. Ms. DiLima has received numerous awards for her service and leadership, including lifetime recognition from the Metropolitan Who’s Who Registry for her outstanding leadership and achievement in her profession. She has been named a Maryland Super Lawyer for 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2007, she was elected a fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation for her outstanding dedication to the welfare of her community, the administration of justice, and the traditions of the profession of law. In 2006, Marjorie was inducted into the Montgomery County Maryland Bar Foundation as a bar leader, and has received the Montgomery County, Maryland Bar Foundation Award for the Extraordinary Commitment to the Delivery of Legal Services in 1999, 2001, and 2003. Ms.DiLima may be reached through her website: www.fdfamilylaw.com. Dorothy R. Fait, J.D., is the founding partner of Fait & DiLima, LLP in Rockville, Mayland. Ms. Fait is a member of the Montgomery County, Frederick County, Maryland State, District of Columbia, and American Bar Associations and has served on and chaired a number of committees for each. She is a past chair of the Maryland State Bar Association’s Family and Juvenile Section Law Council. During her career, Ms. Fait has served as president of the Montgomery County Commission for Women and was a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Family Law. She is a bencher (lifetime position) and past president of the Montgomery County Inn of Court where she currently serves as the program co-chair. Ms. Fait was a commissioner on the Maryland State Ethics Commission from 2000 to 2005 and served as its chair. She was also chair of the Montgomery County Spouse Abuse Task Force for many years prior to the establishment of the Family Justice Center, and is currently the treasurer of the Montgomery County Family Justice Center Foundation. She is also a member of the Montgomery County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. Ms. Fait’s commitment to her community garnered her the Woman of Valor Award from the Greater Washington Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse in 2003. She was named as one of Maryland’s 100 Top Women by The Daily Record in 2004 and again in 2007, and she was inducted into the Circle of Excellence by the Daily Record in 2011. She has been named one of the area’s Super Lawyers in Maryland and D.C. from 2006 through 2017. She was awarded the prestigious Leadership in Law Award from the Daily Record in 2013. In 2015, she received the Founder’s Award from the Family Justice Center of Montgomery County and has been named a Top Lawyer in Family Law by Washingtonian Magazine for several years, most recently in 2015. Ms. Fait may be reached through h