Examples of MD divorce “equitable distribution”

[Anonymous]

Okay, so what equitable distribution really means...

1. The court wants you to show up with a signed separation agreement in hand. You need to write out all of your property and financial assets and come to an agreement with your STBX about who gets what. If you can only agree on some or most, that's fine. They want you to figure it out yourself.

2. You will have a scheduling conference, which determines if you qualify for mediation through the court. That's the better route.

3. You will meet with a retired judge who tries to further get the parties to come to a full agreement.

4. If there's something you don't agree on, your case will go to trial. You don't want to take anything to trial. In my ex's case, he asked for EVERYTHING and didn't like what he got.

In the case of our house, equitable distribution of the house, my jerkface ex went against our agreement of a joint appraisal. He had his lawfirm appraise it way undervalue. I could no longer afford my attorney (he spent $100k trying to drive me into the ground), and by the time I figured that out, I couldn't even afford another $750 to get the house reappriased by a new person. The low appraisal value plus home loans meant the judge awarded me nothing out of the house.

If you want something and you have to go to court to argue for it, you are going to have to have the value appraised.