Posted on July 01, 2024 in Sexual Child Abuse

This post has been updated to reflect the age of consent in Maryland for 2024. 

“What is the age of sexual consent in Maryland” is a legal question that I am asked quite often. The general rule is that the age at which a young person can legally consent to engage in intercourse, sexual contact, or a sexual act with another person is 16 years. Please see Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law 3-301 for the extensive definitions of sexual contact and sexual act under the statute.

There is an exception to this rule if the older participant is less than four years older than the other. In other words, it may or may not be illegal for a 19-year-old to have sex with a 15-year-old or an 18-year-old to have sex with a 14-year-old, depending upon when the participants’ birthdays occur.

A violation of the statute occurs if the participants’ birthdays are four years or more apart.

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 Posted on July 01, 2024 in Bankruptcy

Many business creditors know that their customers are in financial distress before a bankruptcy filing. In this post, we cover two major issues that creditors must be aware of when a business or individual, perhaps a customer, borrower, or supplier, files a petition for bankruptcy protection: (1) the automatic stay and (2) the proof of claim and its firm deadline.

In football, when the referee blows the whistle, all play must stop and there can be serious penalties for “late hits.” You can think of the automatic stay the same way. When a debtor files a voluntary petition to initiate a bankruptcy case in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court, an “automatic stay” goes into effect under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). In the legal arena, a “stay” means a pause, stop, or freeze. The courts take the automatic stay very seriously.

For example, Judge Michelle Harner of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland explains that “[t]he automatic stay is a core and critical component of the bankruptcy system.” In re Siegal, 591 B.R. 609, 621 (Bankr. D. Md. 2018). The automatic stay protects both debtors and creditors. It “provides the debtor with a breathing spell from the harassing actions of creditors, and it protects the interest of all creditors by preventing dismemberment of the debtor’s assets before the debtor can formulate a repayment plan or, in liquidation cases, the court can oversee equitable distribution of the debtor’s assets.” In re Schwartz-Tallard, 803 F.3d 1095, 1100 (9th Cir. 2015)). Therefore, “courts scrutinize, and take seriously, alleged violations of the automatic stay.” In re Siegal, 591 B.R. at 621. Note that the automatic stay is just that; it is automatic, which means it “operates without the necessity for judicial intervention” and it “remains in force until a federal court either disposes of the case or lifts the stay.” See In re Soares, 107 F.3d 969, 975 (1st Cir. 1997) (internal citations to the Bankruptcy Code omitted). This means that the debtor does not need to ask a judge to order an automatic stay.

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 Posted on July 01, 2024 in Wrongful Death

Many Marylanders, and even experienced personal injury lawyers, are unclear of the law and policies regarding autopsies in Maryland. Below are the most frequently asked questions surrounding autopsies in Maryland:

What is an autopsy?

An autopsy is a series of tests and examinations performed on the body and its internal organs to determine the presence of an injury and/or to identify any disease that may have caused or contributed to the death of a person where the cause is not apparent. Additionally, special tests are performed to check for the presence of infectious diseases, alcohol and/or drugs.

Why are autopsies performed?

In Maryland, a death certificate must be completed by a doctor for all deaths before the body can be sent to the funeral home. When the person has a family doctor and dies from natural causes, the doctor can complete the death certificate and an autopsy may be unnecessary. However, if the person is not under the care of a physician or the death appears to be unusual or suspicious in nature or State law requires it, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner must be notified to begin an investigation and determine the cause of death so that the death certificate can be completed. Similarly, in some situations, a hospital or State-licensed physician may, with the permission of the decedent’s family, perform an autopsy.

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 Posted on July 01, 2024 in Divorce

Divorce is a civil proceeding and therefore like all civil proceedings, the action shall be brought in the county or city where the Defendant (opposing spouse) resides, carries on a regular business, is employed, or habitually engages.

However, unlike other civil proceedings, a divorce proceeding may additionally be filed where the Plaintiff (spouse filing for the divorce) resides. In addition, civil actions regarding custody may be filed where the father, alleged father, mother or child resides. Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings, 6-202.

Although this may seem like a simple concept, filing in the wrong county/city, may subject your case to removal to another county upon a motion because of “inappropriate venue.” This may, and most likely will, cause a delay to your proceeding and will cause you to incur additional attorney fees. Additionally, you should keep in mind that if the grounds for divorce occur in Maryland, one of the parties must be a domiciliary of Maryland and if the grounds for divorce occur outside of Maryland, one of the parties must have resided in Maryland for at least one year prior to the filing of the action for divorce. Maryland Code, Family Law, 7-101.

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 Posted on June 18, 2024 in Divorce

Over the years, we have had many clients ask if a divorce that they obtained in foreign country will be recognized here in Maryland. The answer is yes, the divorce will be recognized in the United States, so long as the divorce was obtained by a Court that had authority to do so and the divorce was granted legally. 

In the Maryland case of Wolff v. Wolff, 40 Md. App. 168 (1978), the Appellate Court of Maryland (then called the Court of Special Appeals) determined that an English divorce decree was recognized in Maryland based on comity. The principle of comity allows judgments of courts in foreign countries to be recognized in the United States. 

In the Wolff case, the parties were divorced by an English court and Ms. Wolff was awarded alimony by the English divorce decree. A few years later, Ms. Wolff, who was still residing in London, filed a Complaint to Enforce Foreign Decree seeking to enforce the alimony provision of the English divorce decree in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, where Mr. Wolff resided. Mr. Wolff filed a preliminary objection, seeking to prevent the Maryland court from enforcing the English divorce decree by arguing that the Maryland court lacked jurisdiction. The circuit court agreed with Mr. Wolff and dismissed Ms. Wolff’s complaint. Ms. Wolff appealed, and the Appellate Court reversed the circuit’s court decision. 

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 Posted on June 18, 2024 in Annulment

A common belief is that a spouse may obtain a quick annulment of a marriage versus an actual divorce if they have been married for less than six months. While that may be the case elsewhere, it is not the case in the State of Maryland. 

In Maryland, an annulment can only be granted when a marriage is invalid because it is void or voidable; never due to the length of time, or lack thereof, that the parties resided together as husband and wife. The grounds for an annulment, making the marriage void or voidable, arise before the date of the actual marriage ceremony.

A void marriage is never valid, and a party cannot waive the grounds that make the marriage void because these grounds implicate public policy concerns. Not only can a party to the marriage file for an annulment of this marriage, but so can a third party.

 A marriage is void if, at the time of the marriage ceremony: 

• Either party was legally married to someone else; or

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 Posted on June 16, 2024 in Real Estate