I have been separated and divorced from my former spouse for over two years. In MD, you have to be separated for a year before a final no co...

Question

I have been separated and divorced from my former spouse for over two years. In MD, you have to be separated for a year before a final no contest divorce is granted. In our signed, notarized Separation Agreement, she was to file a Quit Claim Deed for our home. She didn't follow thru. During our final divorce hearing, in April 2014, the Magistrate instructed her to adhere to the terms of the Separation Agreement and file the Quit Claim Deed, which as of today, she still has not done. I guess my question is two parts, what legal recourse do I have to force her to file, and since she is still on the title and deed of the home, can I sue her for half of the real estate taxes and home owners association fees for the time she has failed to follow the agreements? Obviously I could just fill out the paperwork and have her sign it in front of a notary and file it myself, but its the principle, she did not follow thru with her agreement. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Answer

First of all, compliance with these kinds of separation agreement provisions typically requires the spouse who agrees to transfer their interest in marital realty to sign a deed and give it to the transferee spouse. You would then record it at the Recorder of Deeds office. If you had counsel at your divorce, he/she should have undertaken the responsibility of preparing an appropriate deed and arranging for your ex to sign it. What you should do now is file a show cause order asking the court to hold her in contempt of court for violating the court order to convey her interest in the property to you. In your petition you would ask the court to order her to sign the deed by a date certain subject to incarceration for failing to comply, and to require her to pay your legal fees and any other expenses related to her violation of the court order. However, if she had contemporaneously deeded the property over to you, you would have then been solely responsible for ongoing expenses (taxes, hoa fees, etc), so this wouldn't be an element of your relief now. Perhaps if you show her you intend to take her back to court, she'll agree to sign the deed and you will be where you should have been 2 years ago.