Maryland lawmakers have changed Maryland’s divorce laws a couple of times since 2023. As such, locating accurate information about divorce requirements can be difficult and confusing. For example, some websites still discuss things like limited divorces and old-fashioned grounds for divorce (like adultery) when those have been abolished. In this article, the Calvert County, Maryland, Divorce and Family Law attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro provide up-to-date and basic information on residency requirements for divorce in Maryland. If you have more questions and/or need legal assistance with your divorce, call us at (301) 870-1200 or use our contact page. We are Maryland Child Custody Attorneys with offices in Waldorf, Maryland.

Divorce Basics in Maryland: Residency Requirement

Generally speaking, every State has some form of residence requirement for people who want to file for divorce. Residency means that one or both spouses actually must live in the State where the divorce is being filed. That is, you cannot live in Virginia and just file for divorce in Maryland for some reason. In the past, Maryland required that at least one spouse be a resident AND required that the residency be established for at least a year. That requirement was generally called the “length of residence” or “waiting period” requirement.

Under current Maryland divorce laws, the residency requirement will remain in 2025. That is, at least one spouse must be a resident of Maryland before a divorce may be filed in Maryland.

Divorce Basics in Maryland: Length of Residency or Waiting Period Requirement

For practical purposes, the “length of residency” or “waiting period” requirement has been abolished. Section 7-101 of the Maryland Family Law Code still states that there must be a six-month waiting period before the divorce can be filed after establishing residency if the “ground for divorce” occurred outside of Maryland. That might have happened with the old grounds for divorce (like adultery). However, now, logically, it is impossible for the grounds of divorce to happen outside of Maryland. Now, there are only three grounds (or allowable reasons) for divorce which are:

• Irreconcilable differences — the marriage has broken down and cannot be repaired
• Separation — living apart — for six months — meaning the spouses have lived “separate and apart” for at least six months even if they have lived under one roof
• Divorce by mutual consent — meaning the spouses have resolved all divorce issues and have signed a written agreement

See Md. Fam. Law Code, § 7-103. These grounds cannot occur “outside of Maryland,” and as such, it is no longer logical to speak of a six-month residency or a waiting period requirement. Just as importantly, Maryland divorce courts do not closely examine such things and even if they did, the “problem” becomes self-curing as time progresses. Any length of residency requirement would be satisfied by the time a Maryland divorce court judge determined whether the length of residency requirement had been met.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Child Custody Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Family Law lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.