Divorce Mortgage & Housing Solutions in Maryland

Not always — but if your name is on the mortgage and the marital settlement agreement or judgment of absolute divorce awards the home to your ex, you remain legally responsible for the loan until the home is refinanced or sold. Most Maryland marital settlement agreements include a refinance deadline (often 60–180 days). If the spouse keeping the home can’t qualify, the fallback is usually a forced sale. The right move is to confirm refinance qualification before the agreement is signed, not after.

A monetary award is the equalization mechanism Maryland uses in lieu of transferring titled property between spouses. Under Md. Code Ann., Family Law § 8-205, after the court identifies and values marital property, it can grant a monetary award — a cash payment from one spouse to the other — to make the overall division equitable. The court must consider the eleven enumerated factors at § 8-205(b) before fixing the amount.

Maryland courts cannot transfer the home from one spouse to the other (with limited exceptions) — the home stays with whoever holds title. Instead, the court calculates a monetary award sized to equalize the entire marital estate. So if one spouse keeps the home, the home equity goes into that spouse’s column, and the monetary award balances the columns. Equal division is a common starting point but not a presumption — the eleven § 8-205(b) factors guide the actual amount.

Under Md. Code Ann., Family Law § 8-208 through § 8-210, a Maryland court can grant the custodial parent temporary use and possession of the family home — typically for up to three years from the date of the divorce. This is separate from the title and ownership analysis: even if the home is awarded to one spouse in the divorce, use-and-possession can give the custodial parent the right to live there for a defined period before the home is sold or transferred.

Possibly. Maryland lenders will count court-ordered alimony and child support as qualifying income, generally if there’s a documented history of receipt and a continued obligation of at least three years. Income-driven affordability often determines whether a buyout is even feasible — small structural changes in the marital settlement agreement can shift qualification meaningfully.

Whatever the marital settlement agreement or judgment of absolute divorce says. Maryland doesn’t impose a statutory deadline — the timeline comes from the negotiated language. Common windows are 60, 90, or 180 days. If you miss the deadline, the agreement typically triggers a sale or gives the other spouse the right to enforce one.

It depends on the loan type. FHA and VA loans are generally assumable with lender approval and a creditworthy assuming borrower. Conventional loans are typically not assumable. If you have an FHA or VA loan with a low rate, assumption can be far cheaper than refinancing at today’s rates — but the process is slower and lender cooperation varies.