Introduction

JurisdictionMaryland

I. INTRODUCTION1

Alimony law is a creature of statute. Absent statutory authority, the court lacks jurisdiction to determine disputes or grant relief. But there is still some historical case law that governs alimony. Although a substantial body of domestic case law has developed, the Maryland statutes are central to any consideration of alimony. These statutes had for many years been subject to minor revisions which were piecemeal and largely related to grounds for divorce. In 1976, Gov. Marvin Mandel appointed a commission, ultimately known as the Groner Commission, to consider the laws in effect and to recommend any revisions it deemed appropriate. As a result, in 1978 a major change was made to the law governing property disposition in a Maryland divorce-The Property Disposition Act. A similar change to the alimony laws soon followed, namely the Alimony Act of 1980. The statutes governing alimony now appear in Md. Code Ann., Family Law §§ 11-101-11-112 (2019 & Supp. 2022) (hereinafter Fam. Law § ___).

The Alimony Act substantially changed the preference of the law in alimony cases to favor rehabilitative alimony. There is a resulting tendency of practitioners to believe that the law disfavors indefinite alimony. It does not. Rather, the law only allows indefinite alimony in cases involving disability or unconscionable disparity in standards of living.2 In deciding whether to pursue alimony or to push for alimony in settlement or at trial, analysis of the statutory factors3 is imperative. Analysis of the statutory factors may be impossible without discovery.

Chapter Two covers the Maryl and law of...

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