At Haspel, McLeod & Drawbaugh, P.C., our knowledgeable attorneys handle a wide range of family law matters, encompassing all facets of spousal and parent-child relationships. We provide skilled services in drafting prenuptial and postnuptial agreements as well as separation agreements to resolve financial and parenting issue when spouses go their separate ways. As compassionate counselors, we strive whenever possible to employ alternatives to litigation in protecting our clients’ rights and interests. No matter the urgency or complexity of your family law matter, you can trust us to apply our deep experience toward obtaining the best possible results.
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are designed principally to protect the spouses’ property rights in the event the marriage comes to an end. These contracts can control not only division of assets and debts but also specify alimony terms, life insurance distributions and other directions concerning finances. Prenups are typically used when one spouse comes to the marriage with large assets that are sought to be kept from the other. Postnups are commonly entered when circumstance arise that were not contemplated by the spouses, such as a drastic change in one spouse’s health or earning capacity. In order for a prenup or a postnup to be enforceable, the parties must establish that it was fair and was not the product of fraud, duress, coercion, mistake, undue influence or incompetence. Our skilled family law attorneys have experience in drafting agreements that comply with local law and in defending these agreements against challenges.
In Maryland, there are fault and no-fault grounds for obtaining a divorce. A no-fault divorce may be based on a one-year separation of the spouses or, in certain cases, on mutual consent. Fault grounds include adultery, desertion and cruelty or excessively vicious conduct. Divorce proceedings can be amicable or adversarial, and litigation may be needed to settle contests over alimony, child support, child custody, parenting plans and allocation of assets and debts. We work with our clients to avert contentious divorces through settlement agreements and through alternative dispute resolution.
Maryland law places responsibility for child support on both parents based on their relative ability to pay. The state favors parents sharing child custody after a separation or divorce. Whenever possible, we help our clients negotiate agreements that govern these important parenting responsibilities, but we also use all available legal remedies needed to enforce our clients’ rights. We stand ready to assist with:
We help our clients come up with creative and agreeable solutions to custody, support and other parenting disputes, standing ready to advocate for their rights in court where a negotiated favorable outcome cannot be achieved.
The lawyers at Haspel, McLeod & Drawbaugh, P.C. represent individuals and families throughout Frederick, Montgomery, Washington and Howard counties in all types of family law matters. To schedule your initial consultation in Frederick or Rockville, call us at 301-631-0592 or contact us online.