Law Offices of Eugene M. Zoglio, P.A.

Divorce, Child Custody, Visitation & Support

There are two kinds of divorces awarded in Maryland, absolute and limited. An absolute divorce, (also called a "divorce a vinculo matrimonii") is a judicial termination of the marriage. Maryland also recognizes limited divorces (or "divorce a mensa et thoro"). The effect of a limited divorce is what is commonly known as a legal separation, the right to cohabitation is terminated, but the marriage is undissolved, that is, the parties to the marriage do not have the right to remarry.

In order to obtain a divorce in Maryland, one of the several statutory grounds for divorce must be found by the court to exist. Some of the grounds are "fault grounds," that is, that one (or both) parties have committed certain bad acts (e.g. adultery, physical abuse, or abandonment) which permits the court to end the marriage. Other grounds are "no-fault," (e.g. two year separation of the parties or one year mutual and voluntary separation of the parties) that is, that the court can dissolve the marriage even though neither party has committed any bad act, since the parties have clearly demonstrated that the marriage has come to an end. Most, but not all grounds for absolute divorces, require the parties to be separated for one or more years prior to the filing for an absolute divorce. In order for the court to divorce a couple, the ground for divorce must first be proven to exist, and corroborating evidence introduced.

The Circuit Court, which has jurisdiction over divorce proceedings, also determines who shall have custody of the children from the marriage as well as determining if a party should pay or receive alimony or receive or pay an award to compensate a party for an otherwise inequitable distribution of property.

Parents of a child are joint guardians of that child, and the rights of both parents are equal, each parent has an equal right to the custody of the child when they separate. Unmarried parents of a child enjoy the same rights and obligations as married parents do in and for the minor children. The same court that determines issues regarding children within a divorce proceeding, can determine issues of child custody, visitation and child support, even though the parents never married.

Representation & Cost

The Law Offices of Eugene M. Zoglio, P.A. represents individuals in all aspects of uncontested divorce, custody and support cases as well as other family law cases, such as adoption, guardianship and name changes. You will meet with an attorney during your initial interview, who will discuss with you at that time the facts of your case, the anticipated judicial procedure likely to occur and the extent of this office’s representation. Generally, representation in these types of cases is provided to the client on an hourly basis, that is, you pay a retainer in advance and are charged a certain amount for each hour or part of an hour the attorney works on your case which is deducted from the retainer. However, certain cases, such as uncontested divorces, name changes and child support defense cases are charged at one fixed fee. Please note that at the end of your no-cost initial consultation, your attorney will advise you, based upon the facts of your case, what will be the anticipated cost of representing you.