There are several grounds upon which a Maryland Court may grant an absolute divorce; namely, adultery, voluntary separation, desertion for a period of 12 months, conviction of a felony or misdemeanor, 2-year separation, insanity, cruelty of treatment and excessively vicious conduct. Each of these grounds must be proven in accordance with the elements defined within the Maryland statutes.
As a Maryland Divorce Attorney practicing in Montgomery County, Howard County and Prince George's County, Maryland, I’ve received many inquiries from one spouse or the other asking whether a divorce may be obtained in the grounds of past adultery. Even thought the innocent person forgave his or her spouse for the first (and may even second) instance of adultery, the offfending spouse has continued the adulterous behavior or is committing some other act or behavior against the innocent spouse that now warrants an end to the marriage. It raises the interesting question of whether you can still file for divorce on the ground of adultery even though you forgave your spouse for his or her past indiscretions. The answer is a conditional yes and deserves further explanation.
In Maryland, the fancy term used for forgiveness by one spouse of the other’s past misconduct is called Condonation. It comes up most often when adultery is alleged and can be used as a defense to a charge of adultery. It is important to note, however, that condonation is defined by Maryland case law as “…forgiveness with an implied condition that the marital offenses shall not be repeated and that the party offended shall be treated with conjugal kindness and on breach of this condition, the right to remedy for former injuries revives.” Cullotta, 193 Md. at 383.
Generally, if you knew (and could have proven) your spouse committed adultery but continued to live and cohabit with him or her, adultery cannot be used as a ground. However, if your spouse starts having affairs again or, if your spouse has had several affairs and you knew of and condoned only one, you can then sue on grounds of adultery.
In short, condonation is not an absolute bar to a divorce on the ground of adultery in Maryland.
