Maryland Divorce Steps Every Columbia Resident Should Know

This episode answers the question every Columbia and Howard County family asks the moment they decide to file: how long is this road, and what are the stops along the way? Todd K. Mohink - 30 years in Maryland courtrooms, founding attorney of Law Offices of Todd K. Mohink, PA in Glen Burnie and Columbia, and the attorney who argued Braun v. Headley - maps the full divorce timeline for Columbia families, from first filing at the Howard County Circuit Court in Ellicott City to the judge's signature on the final decree.

Todd explains the two-track system that decides everything: an uncontested divorce with a signed marital separation agreement (MSA) takes roughly two to four months; a fully contested case involving custody, the family home, or significant assets runs at least a year - though Todd notes that roughly 98% of contested cases still settle before trial. He covers what Columbia's dual-income households face in the discovery stage - interrogatories capped at 30 questions answered under oath and document requests for financial records - plus Maryland's use-and-possession statute (up to three years in the family home post-divorce for the custodial parent), the contempt power that activates the day a judge signs the final decree, and the one step every Columbia spouse can take from day one to keep the case short and affordable.