Maryland Divorce Separation Alimony Lawyers Attorneys

by

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah

GUZMAN CRUZ v. CLEMENCIA SOLIS SILVA

COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

November 25, 2009, Filed

Facts:

The appellant, Guzman Cruz (Husband), and the appellee,

Clemencia Solis Silva

(Wife), were married on December 19, 1995. Two children were born of that union: Salvador Cruz, on February 18, 1996; and Yesenia Cruz, on January 10, 2000. On January 25, 2007, the Husband filed a Complaint for Limited Divorce on the basis of a one-year voluntary separation. On July 2, 2007, the Wife filed a Counter-Complaint For Absolute Divorce or, In the Alternative, for Limited Divorce, alleging as her grounds: 1) adultery and 2) abandonment. The divorce charges were thus double-barreled, with the Husband seeking a limited divorce and the Wife, an absolute one or, in the alternative, a limited one. The Wife also requested alimony. The Circuit Court for Prince George’s County ordered him to pay alimony and child support to appellee wife. The Court denied the Husband’s “Complaint for Limited Divorce and the Wife’s Counter-complaint for Absolute Divorce.

Issues:

Whether that the trial court erred in awarding indefinite alimony to the Wife?

Whether the trial court erred in calculating the child support award?

Discussion:

The court noted the unusual and

hampering

factual scenario before it. Namely, both parties were Spanish speaking and required interpreters and both were pro se in the proceeding. Of significance, neither party presented corroborating testimony from a witness and, therefore, neither proved legally sufficient grounds for a divorce. Further, neither party gave testimony, which if corroborated by witnesses, would have established the grounds for a divorce. So the court focused on the right of the wife to seek alimony, separate from a divorce. The court held that in the State of Maryland, a decree for alimony may be passed without the granting of a divorce, but in order to entitle a wife to such an allowance the facts in the case must be such as would entitle her to either a divorce a vinculo matrimonii or a mensa et thoro. Since the wife failed to prove her entitlement to a divorce, the award of alimony had to be vacated. Likewise, the court found there was insufficient evidence before the trial court to award child support. The court vacated both the alimony award and the child support award and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm s unofficial views of the Justices opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah is a Virginia lawyer and owner of the SRIS Law Group. The SRIS Law Group has offices in Virginia, Maryland,

Massachusetts

, New York, North Carolina & California. The firm handles criminal/traffic defense, family law, immigration & bankruptcy cases.

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