Our Practice Provides the
 Full Range of Family Law Services

Helping clients with divorce, support, custody and visitation

At the Law Offices of Ellen L. Lee, we provide comprehensive family law services to clients in Rockville, Annapolis, Columbia, Frederick, and throughout Maryland. Our practice includes divorce, child custody, child support, child visitation, property distribution, spousal support, separation agreements, premarital agreements, post marital agreements, and domestic violence.

Firm handles both types of divorce in Maryland

We help all sorts of couples, including military couples and same-sex couples, with divorce through litigation or mediation. Maryland offers two types of divorce:

• Limited divorce — The court supervises a couple’s legal separation and rules on issues concerning children, alimony, spousal support and use and possession of the familial home. The spouses, however, remain legally married. Limited divorce is appropriate when the parties do not have grounds for an absolute divorce.
• Absolute divorce — Resolves all issues involved in a divorce and ends in a legal dissolution of the marriage. It allows the former spouses to remarry. Grounds for an absolute divorce include adultery, a voluntary or two-year separation, conviction of a crime or vicious conduct.

We also help people in Rockville, Annapolis and throughout Maryland who want to modify the terms of a divorce.

Focus is on the child in custody and support cases

Child custody, support and visitation arrangements are among the most contentious issues faced by our clients who are in the process of divorce. We approach these family law issues with compassion, and we help you focus on your child’s interests.

Courts divide the property when couples can’t agree

Maryland is an equitable distribution state, which means that if the divorcing parties cannot agree, the court will decide what constitutes a fair division of their assets and debts. In determining how property will be distributed in a divorce, the court considers the value of the assets, the parties’ financial circumstances, and how and when the property was acquired, among other factors.

Spousal support can be set by agreement or by the court

In Maryland, if divorcing parties cannot agree on the amount of spousal support, commonly known as alimony, the court will decide. The factors courts consider include the spouses’ relative incomes, the ability of the spouse who is requesting alimony to become self-supporting, and the couple’s standard of living before the divorce.

A separation agreement doesn’t end the marriage

Legal separation is different from divorce in that it does not end the marriage. Legal separation does allow the parties to resolve such issues as property division, spousal support and child custody and support. Resolving these issues in a separation agreement will streamline a subsequent divorce proceeding. At the Law Offices of Ellen L. Lee, we have worked on separation agreements for clients in Columbia, Frederick and elsewhere in Maryland.

Premarital and postmarital agreements reduce conflict

Premarital agreements, also known as prenuptial agreements, allow couples to determine — before the marriage — how property division, spousal support and child custody arrangements would be handled in the event of divorce, separation, or death of one of the spouses. A premarital agreement can help avoid contentious divorce proceedings later on. We also help couples create postmarital agreements, which are drafted after marriage.

Domestic violence victims need protective orders

One of the grounds for divorce in Maryland is cruelty to the complaining party or to the minor child of the complaining party. We have extensive experience representing husbands and wives in domestic violence cases. We can help you obtain, or oppose, a protective order, commonly known as a restraining order, in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Comprehensive family law and divorce services in Maryland

If you have a legal issue relating to family law or divorce, contact the Law Offices of Ellen L. Lee. Conveniently located two blocks from the Rockville Courthouse, we work with clients in Frederick, Columbia, Annapolis, Rockville, and throughout Montgomery County. Call our law firm today at 301-417-5351 or contact us online to learn more.