Filing for divorce generally includes (1) filing the necessary paperwork with the appropriate state or county court; (2) paying the filing fee; and (3) having the paperwork properly served on (handed to) your spouse—known as service of process.

This paperwork generally consists of a complaint or petition that includes the names of the spouses, the grounds for the divorce (fault or no-fault), whether there are children involved in the marriage, and whether the spouse is seeking child custody, child support, or spousal support.

A spouse generally may file for divorce in the state and county in which the spouse resides—or in which the other spouse resides. In many states the spouse must have lived in the state or county for a specified period of time before filing for divorce. Laws regarding this residency requirement and where a lawsuit for divorce may be filed vary from state to state and with circumstances in which the spouses share minor children.

Laws regarding the requirements for filing for divorce are usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the family code or domestic relations code.

In Maryland, the process of filing for divorce involves submitting the necessary paperwork to the circuit court in the county where either the filing spouse or the other spouse resides. The paperwork typically includes a complaint for divorce, which outlines the grounds for divorce (Maryland recognizes both fault and no-fault grounds), information about any children from the marriage, and any requests for child custody, child support, or alimony. The filing spouse must also pay a filing fee. After filing, the documents must be properly served to the other spouse, which is known as service of process. Maryland requires at least one of the spouses to have resided in the state for a minimum of six months before filing for divorce. If the spouses have minor children together, the residency requirement is still applicable, and additional considerations regarding child custody and support will be addressed in the proceedings. The specific laws and requirements for filing for divorce in Maryland can be found in the state's Family Law Article of the Maryland Code.