Maryland Limited Divorce

[Anonymous]

I am looking for resources to get the ball rolling. Financially this could not have come at a worse time. I was willing to try to keep this out of the court system as much as possible but DH has really shown his true colors these past few months. Therefore I need a separation agreement as I no longer trust him to do the right thing on his own. We have two children under ten.

DH is still in the home and I want him to move out. Unfortunately, our finances are a mess right now and he is living in the basement until he can move out. DH wears his status as a roommate so well that he has forgotten that he is a parent. He has minimal interactions with the kids and watches TV during his off time. If I ask for any type of help regarding parenting, he uses being tired as an excuse and finds some other way to say no.

Although we both want to separate, DH is way more depressed about it than I am, even though it was his suggestion in the first place.

Any suggestions on next steps and/or resources? Been through counseling and it helped me realize that I no longer wanted to be married so needless to say it did not work.

[Anonymous]

Why can't you move out if you want the divorce?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't you move out if you want the divorce?

I am keeping the house (for now) for my dc and myself. Mortgage is about what I’d pay in rent for a three bedroom apartment.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give advice on how to do this as cheaply as possible? This will probably be uncontested (hopefully).

[Anonymous]

Again, why does he have to move out? The expectations that a man automatically move are over. You can place the house up for sale first and then the separation starts when you both get your own place.

If you want to divorce, you will do it as cleanly as possible and without drama. As an outside party looking in, I can already see the drama on your end. Sale the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone give advice on how to do this as cheaply as possible? This will probably be uncontested (hopefully).

You co-own the house and have a mortgage, right? So he has a right to 1/2 the equity. That means he's (reasonably) not going to move out until he has the equity and is off the mortgage. So you need to start the ball rolling on coming to an agreement about how you're going to buy him out, and the timeline. Also the default is 50-50 custody, so not sure why you're assuming that you would get the house due to the kids?

If you guys can't discuss this on your own, then you need to go to a 3rd party. There are lawyers that specialize in collaborative divorce that could help you come to these agreements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone give advice on how to do this as cheaply as possible? This will probably be uncontested (hopefully).

Depends what you define as cheap ? Even low conflict ‘collaborative’ divorces can end up costing $$$. If you have wildly different ideas about what is fair it will not be cheap.

[Anonymous]

You need a lawyer, not DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Again, why does he have to move out? The expectations that a man automatically move are over. You can place the house up for sale first and then the separation starts when you both get your own place.

If you want to divorce, you will do it as cleanly as possible and without drama. As an outside party looking in, I can already see the drama on your end. Sale the house.

I don't think that you can make him move. Legally if the house belongs to both of you, he has the same right to stay in as you.
To make him help with kids more, divde week and have him take care of the kids every other day, let him to pick the days.

[Anonymous]

You’ll have to buy him out of the house.

[Anonymous]

You can’t live together in Maryland and get a divorce.