Maryland is an equitable distribution state, which means that rather than divide marital property straight down the middle in a 50/50 fashion, the court uses several criteria – including the monetary and non-monetary contributions of each spouse, each spouse's economic circumstances, factors that contributed to the demise of the marriage, the length of the marriage and several other factors – to decide how the assets will be divided between each party. (MD Code Family Law § 8-205) The court makes an effort to be as fair and equitable as possible as they divide up the marital estate.