Maryland Divorce Lawyer Blog

Equitable Distribution and Assets Acquired During a Maryland Couple’s Period of Separation

July 11, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

A married couple’s financial portfolio is often a fluid and dynamic thing, constantly changing over time. That includes the time between separation and a final divorce judgment. For assets you acquired during the period of separation, the law generally deems them to be marital assets. Still, it may, when it is time for a court to reach equitable distribution and monetary award decisions, treat them differently than assets you acquired pre-separation. If you have questions about equitable distribution and assets acquired during separation, you should speak to a knowledgeable Maryland divorce lawyer.

A recent divorce case from Anne Arundel County provided the Appellate Court with an opportunity to educate readers about how the equitable distribution and monetary award processes work, as well as when a marital asset may not be subject to equitable distribution.

The case involved a couple who divorced after more than 20 years of marriage. Both spouses filed, but the wife filed first. The wife asked for indefinite alimony and a monetary award, among other things.

High-Net-Worth Spouses and the Divorce Process in Maryland

June 24, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

High-net-worth couples have marital troubles and often decide to divorce, just like everyone else. Unlike middle- and working-class spouses, however, high-net-worth couples face some unique issues when going through a divorce related to the volume, value, and complexity of their assets. If your divorce presents issues related to high-value assets, it is well worth your while to retain an experienced Maryland divorce lawyer.

One such high-net-worth divorcing couple is rappers Offset and Cardi B. In May, headlines revealed that the husband had amended his response to the wife’s 2024 divorce filing, asking for alimony. On the surface, that might seem surprising given that Offset is worth somewhere between $26 and $32 million. However, Cardi B is worth more than $100 million, which makes Offset’s argument look more plausible.

When you have to navigate a Maryland divorce where both of you are high-net-worth individuals, you probably will not have to deal with a catalog of hit songs and albums. Nevertheless, there are certain things that high-net-worth individuals need to keep in mind when going through a divorce.

Indefinite Alimony Versus Rehabilitative Alimony in Maryland: When Each is (or Isn’t) Appropriate

June 10, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Alimony is an important aspect of many divorce cases. In almost all divorces, one spouse earns more than the other, creating the possibility (if not likelihood) of disparate standards of living post-divorce without alimony. If you are involved in a divorce where alimony is an issue, it is essential to recognize that the law in this state sets up some clear guideposts for when (and what kind of) alimony is appropriate. To ensure you walk away from your divorce with a just and reasonable outcome, be sure to retain representation from an experienced Maryland divorce lawyer.

The Maryland Appellate Court recently looked at the divorce and alimony case of a Gaithersburg couple. This case offers valuable lessons and reminders about the legal rules governing the types of alimony available in Maryland.

To set the background, the husband was an engineer at Microsoft, earning nearly $300,000 per year. The wife had risen from a fitness club lifeguard to working as a graphic designer and video editor, earning almost $90,000 per year before her job ended in early 2024. (He said she quit; she said the employer laid her off.)

What Maryland Law Says about Fraud, Coercion, and Duress in Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

May 23, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Getting a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is often an excellent financial plan for married (or soon-to-be-married) couples. A well-written contract can help ensure that you, not a court, will decide your finances should anything happen to the marriage. Having a knowledgeable Maryland prenuptial agreement lawyer is vital to ensuring that the agreement you sign is valid, enforceable, and accurately reflects the objectives you wanted to achieve.

As with any legal process, there is a right way and a wrong way to procure a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Recently, Yahoo! Entertainment reported on one internet celebrity’s postnuptial agreement, which may be an example of a contract executed using impermissible methods.

According to Yahoo!, streaming star Amouranth accused her husband of forcing her to sign a postnuptial agreement “at gunpoint.” In addition to allegedly threatening her safety, the wife also accused the husband of using the safety and well-being of her pets as “leverage” in securing her signature on the contract.

What are ‘Crawford Credits’ and When Might They Impact My Maryland Divorce?

May 16, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

For many married couples, the largest single asset they possess is their marital home. When divorce arises, dealing with the marital home is often the most significant issue other than child-related matters. Even as you both navigate the divorce process, someone must pay the mortgage, property taxes, etc. Accounting for these expenses when it is time to divide assets can be crucial. To ensure you leave your marriage with a fair asset distribution, make sure you are not tackling the divorce process alone, but instead have representation from a knowledgeable Maryland divorce lawyer.

A recent divorce case from Howard County illustrates how thorny these matters can be. A husband responsible for paying the mortgage on the marital home, but did not receive something called “Crawford credits” based on those mortgage payments, took his case to the Appellate Court, but lost. Ultimately, he was unsuccessful because the law carved out several exceptions, one of which applied in his case.

To understand more fully why the court ruled against the husband, it helps to understand what Crawford credits are. These credits, which take their name from the 1982 Maryland Supreme Court case of Crawford v. Crawford, are a divorce law concept that impacts equitable distribution when a couple owns one or more pieces of real estate.

The Legal Rules Surrounding ‘Conflicts of Interest’ and the Process of Selecting an Attorney to Handle Your Maryland Divorce

April 30, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

A divorce case involves many steps and numerous decisions. One of those choices is selecting the right Maryland divorce lawyer. This decision may become particularly complicated if your spouse seeks to exclude your preferred attorney. The good news is that, in most situations, the rules regarding these “conflicts of interest” will not require you to replace your preferred legal counsel.

A recent case from Anne Arundel County illustrates just how far the rules regarding conflicts of interest do—and do not—extend.

In 2022, an Annapolis wife filed for divorce. Three years earlier, she and her husband had sued their neighbors and a property developer over stormwater runoff that allegedly damaged the couple’s property. The couple hired a local attorney who represented them in the property damage case.

Identifying Tactics that are Doomed to Fail When Used in Your Maryland Divorce Case

April 16, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

There is a time for debating and discussing one’s novel beliefs or opinions… and that time is not while attempting to litigate your divorce case. This is one area, among many, where having an experienced Maryland divorce lawyer represent you can be extremely helpful. Your knowledgeable attorney can save you from making the sort of mistakes that, no matter how important, useful, or valuable they may seem to you, are doomed to fail with the court and make you look unserious in the process.

In 2022, spouses H.M. and V.M. negotiated a Marital Settlement Agreement, which a Prince George’s County trial court approved and incorporated into the couple’s 2023 judgment of absolute divorce. One of the agreement’s clauses stated that the ex-spouses would sell the residence after their minor child graduated from high school, splitting any profits generated by the transaction.

After the child graduated in June 2023, the ex-wife was reluctant to sell the home. The ex-husband eventually returned to court to request that the judge appoint a trustee to oversee the sale of the house. The trial court ruled in favor of the husband. The wife took several post-judgment steps, but they were unsuccessful. The reasons for her lack of success are our focus today.

Civil or Criminal? Direct or Constructive? The Different Forms of Contempt of Court in Maryland

March 31, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

In divorce or other family law cases, the best path forward is to work collaboratively with your ex (or soon-to-be-ex) spouse to resolve all disputes, and to follow all of the orders the trial judge hands down. When that does not matter, contempt of court proceedings can result. If you face a contempt charge, it is essential to know what to expect, as well as what the court can and cannot do. Obtaining this knowledge and securing effective advocacy against the contempt charge are two goals an experienced Maryland divorce lawyer can help you with immeasurably.

Recently, the Appellate Court weighed in regarding proper and improper contempt punishments and parties’ burdens of proof. The case involved child custody and child support, but the lessons from the court’s ruling apply to all kinds of divorce and family law cases.

In the summer of 2024, the wife brought the husband into court for a contempt hearing. The trial judge concluded that the husband had violated the couple’s child custody order and sentenced the husband to 30 days behind bars for “constructive civil contempt.”

A Celebrity Breakup and the Perils of Posting About Your Divorce on Social Media

March 18, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Today, Millenials, members of “Gen Z,” and many others live much of their lives online. For some influencers and celebrities, it seems that if it did not happen on Instagram (or another social media platform,) it did not happen at all. However, the ever-presence of social media can be a problem when you are going through a divorce. The potential pitfalls are numerous and varied, but by finding and retaining a skilled Maryland divorce lawyer, you can sidestep these possible hazards that otherwise could harm your divorce case.

A recent celebrity divorce case provides a practical example. Teyana Taylor is a singer-songwriter who married Iman Shumpert, a professional basketball player, in 2016. The couple divorced in 2024. After the divorce was finalized, though, the ex-husband allegedly posted a series of documents and reports to Instagram. The Instagram information appeared to show the ex-wife getting a substantial amount in the divorce, including four pieces of real estate worth more than $10 million, a seven-figure cash sum, a $300,000 Maybach vehicle, a $70,000 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and a tour bus.

The “leaked” documents created a stir on social media, with many users calling the ex-wife a “gold digger.” The ex-wife fought back this month, filing a request with the court to hold the ex-husband in contempt of court. According to Taylor, Shumpert’s social media disclosure included false reports and court documents that were sealed by the judge. The ex-wife’s legal team asked the judge to impose maximum fines and a 20-day jail stint as punishment for leaking the sealed information.

Dividing Credit Card Debts in a Maryland Divorce — Including Cards Titled in One Spouse’s Name Alone

February 28, 2025 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

One of the most important aspects of any divorce is the division of marital assets and debts. A crucial part of that process is separating marital from non-marital. Sometimes, it is as easy as looking at how an asset or debt account is titled, but in Maryland, that is far from the only relevant factor. Given the importance of fair distribution of debts and wealth, having a knowledgeable Maryland divorce lawyer on your side can be critical to success.

According to the Federal Reserve in New York City, Americans’ collective credit card debt has cleared the $1.2 trillion mark, shattering all previous records in that area. Credit card debt can be a substantial part of married couples’ lives, making it a significant piece of the divorce puzzle when those marriages end.

Such was the case for one Upper Marlboro couple who recently came before the Appellate Court of Maryland.