A relatively new law has changed how courts handle divorce claims that a former partner is voluntary impoverished.

“We had case law that talked about the concept of voluntary impoverishment, but we did not have a statute that laid out specific language that we could reasonably rely on every single time for a definition until this new statute came out,” said Erin Kopelman, a principal and divorce attorney at Lerch, Early & Brewer, in a The Daily Record article published on January 24.

The provisions in the statute are highly relevant to alimony, Kopelman said.

“There’s a lot of pre-October 2021 case law that says that voluntary impoverishment arguments can be made related to alimony,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised going forward if these child support statutes are relied on in alimony cases.”

You can read the full article here ($): Md. attorneys cite impact of updated statute defining voluntary impoverishment.

Kopelman is a divorce attorney who handles cases involving domestic relations and family law, including divorce, custody, child support, property settlement, alimony, post-judgment issues, prenuptial agreements, and postnuptial agreements in Maryland and the District of Columbia.