Questions You Want Answered > General Family Law Information > I want to move out. Isn't that abandonment?
Not necessarily. Abandonment, or desertion as it is called in Maryland, is an unjustified ending of cohabitation. Justification can be proven by either the one leaving or the one left, and it must be an act which makes the continuation of the marriage impossible without imperiling the individual's health, safety, sanity or self-respect.
A ground for divorce in Maryland is only one of the factors that the court takes into account when determining property division, monetary award and spousal support. That means that even though your leaving could be considered abandonment, it may not weigh as heavily in the court's decision as other factors, in deciding who gets what.
Last updated on September 4, 2013 by Karen Robbins, Attorney at Law