You can
ask for a legal separation for the same reasons you could file for a divorce, for example adultery or unreasonable behaviour.
In order to get a
judgment for legal separation, you and your spouse must submit a joint parenting plan to the court, setting out child custody, visitation and support matters.
If your spouse had a larger income and carried health benefits for the family, consider filing
for a legal separation rather than a divorce, at least for the time being.
You can maintain this informal arrangement as long as it suits you, or file
for a legal separation as soon as the arrangement no longer works for you.
In a separation proceeding, as soon as either spouse files and properly serves a petition and
summons for a legal separation, certain court orders will issue automatically.
Although this requires additional paperwork, if you're in a hurry to get your divorce moving along but have not established residency yet, you can file
for legal separation immediately.
After you file for divorce, you must wait an additional six months before your divorce can be final, but there is no waiting
period for a legal separation.
Thus, if the couple has moved recently, they may need to wait to file
for legal separation until they meet their state's statutory requirements.
Therefore, it may not make sense to choose this option because a
proceeding for legal separation is often as time - consuming, expensive and contentious as a divorce proceeding.
As a practical matter, before a wife can obtain a support order there must be a breakdown of the marital relationship and an action
commenced for legal separation or divorce.
These folks typically wouldn't opt
for a legal separation though, as they would usually just handle the process without the help of the court system.
If none of the grounds above apply, or you have not been in your civil partnership for more than a year, then you can
apply for a legal separation instead.
Start the process by completing the separation paperwork and filing a
petition for legal separation with the clerk of the court in the county where you reside.
When you and your spouse sign a legal separation agreement and present it to the court, the judge may approve it and merge it into your court
order for a legal separation.
These type of folks typically wouldn't
opt for a legal separation, as they would usually just handle the process without the help of the court system.
At the time of
filing for a legal separation, you are usually required to also include other requests for child custody, spousal support and division of property.
Phrases with «for legal separation»