A legal separation can make more sense than a divorce when the parties can negotiate acceptable conditions and when practical or religious issues make a divorce less attractive. This blog will discuss what legal separation is as well as its costs and benefits. The Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC, can help spouses decide what’s best for them and their families.
The Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC, helps spouses start new lives, whether that’s through a divorce or separation. For 12 years, Taylor B. Warner, APLC, has provided family law representation to clients in Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties. Rancho Cucamonga legal separation lawyer Taylor B. Warner can help you start the process.
What’s the Difference Between Legal Separation and Divorce?
A legal separation is part of a formal agreement, and a court order is filed with the court. It outlines your agreement covering the following:
- Debt division
- Community property division
- Spousal support
- Child custody
- Child support
- Visitation schedule
The same issues would be dealt with in a divorce, but the judge isn’t ending your marriage.
This often means that you’ll live separately, but you’ll share child custody, and one of you will pay, and the other will receive spousal and child support. When you’re legally separated, you remain married. Among other things, you cannot marry someone else unless you divorce your spouse.
Why Might a Legal Separation Be a Better Option?
There are many reasons married couples go this route:
- One or both spouses haven’t lived in California long enough to file for a divorce
- The couple thinks remaining married will benefit their children
- You’re unsure you want to end the relationship and think you may reconcile. The parties may want time to think about divorcing or take time to rebuild their relationship
- There are religious objections to divorce
- You don’t want to divorce for personal reasons, or your family may not accept it
- Divorce may result in paying higher taxes
- Some government benefits require couples to be married for at least ten years for a spouse to qualify
- One spouse wants or needs the medical insurance offered by the other spouse’s employer
- One spouse wants to inherit property from the other
A legal separation may be temporary because the couple gets back together or divorces. It may also last for the rest of the couple’s lives.
Divorce might be the better way to go, depending on your situation. Reasons include the following:
- You’ve decided to end the marriage
- You want the relationship to end so you can move on with your life
- You want to marry someone else
- Your relationship is abusive, and you want to end all connections to your spouse
If you want all the formalities of a legal separation, the legal costs may be not much less than those of ending your marriage.
What’s the Process to be Legally Separated?
Like a divorce, legal separation shouldn’t be a surprise. Ideally, there’s enough goodwill between the parties to objectively consider the situation and come to a fair and reasonable agreement.
But that’s not always the case. There may be multiple proposals and counterproposals before the two reach an agreement. Though the marriage remains, the legal separation process may not be less painful or emotional for some couples.
The legal separation process is more streamlined than a divorce. There’s no six-month waiting period after the papers are served before filing court papers. However, many other procedural aspects are similar to a divorce.
One spouse must file a petition for legal separation with the court, which is served on the other party. There’s a discovery process where financial and other information is shared. Like a divorce, the spouses can negotiate a resolution, but you should retain a legal separation lawyer to know your rights and effectively negotiate on your behalf.
Some parts of a legal separation order can’t change after the order is official, such as the division of debts and property. Other issues, like spousal support and child custody, can be amended, but the spouse wanting the change has the burden of proving there are substantially changed circumstances. That may be a close call and the services of a legal separation attorney may make the difference.
A judge may decide the matter after a hearing if an agreement is reached.
Contact a Legal Separation Law Firm Today
Legal separation has pros and cons. You may want to end the marriage and start a new life, but financial and practical issues are in your way. We’ll help you make the right decision for you and your family.
If you believe your married life must change, but you don’t know how, discuss legal separation issues with an attorney at the legal separation Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC, today. Call us at 909-466-5575 to schedule an appointment. Let us deliver results for you.
