TDC Family Law
  • Home
  • PRACTICE AREAS
    • Divorce
    • Spousal Support
    • Child Support
    • Child Custody
    • Visitation
    • Complex High Asset Divorce
    • Contempt of Court
    • Paternity
    • Mediation Coaching
    • Alternative Dispute Resolution - Mediation and Collaborative Divorce
    • Parenting Coordination
  • Bio
    • Certified Family Law Specialist
    • What to Expect
  • Blog
  • FAQ
    • What does the area of Family Law cover?
    • Things To Do After a Divorce is Finalized
    • Annulment
    • Attorney Fee Awards in California
    • Community Property
    • Difference Between Guardianship and Adoption
    • Difference Between Marriage and Domestic Partnership
    • Difference Between Physical and Legal Custody
    • Divorce Process in California
    • Domestic Violence
    • Go to Court for Spousal or Child Support
    • Legal Grounds for Divorce in California
    • “Move Away” After Divorce
    • No Fault Divorce
    • Parenting Plan
    • Residency Requirements for a Divorce in California
    • Summary Dissolution
    • Supervised Visitation
    • The impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 on Divorce
    • What does it mean to have a fiduciary relationship to your spouse?
    • What is a Request for Order Hearing?
  • Resources
  • Contact

TDC FAMILY LAW BLOG

What is the difference between legal separation and divorce?

5/22/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
If you have reached what you believe to be the end of your marriage, depending on your circumstances you may choose to either legally separate or file for divorce.  The difference between the two is simple.  When legally separated, regardless of living or financial arrangements, you are still married.  This means that both parties have chosen not to terminate their marital status and are not legally free to marry someone else. 

Ending this important relationship can be heart-breaking and/or infuriating, depending on the circumstances behind it.  You may have some hope of salvaging it peaceably before it comes to divorce.  Legal separation may seem less drastic, while divorce really represents the death nell to a part of your life.  Legal separation does NOT mean your marriage is over while divorce emphatically does.  If you find out you want to stay married AFTER the divorce papers have been finalized, you will have wasted a great deal of time and money needlessly.  This is why some couple can remain legally separated from months to years! 

There are quite a few other practical reasons that a couple might choose to file for separation as opposed to divorce. Among them religious beliefs, familial obligation or financial entanglement.  If neither ex is interested in pursuing a new relationship outside the marriage, putting off the actual divorce may seem like a way of easing into the more permanent legal status.  Whatever your reasons for separating, it is essential to protect yourself upfront and have all the necessary issues settled and agreed to in writing.  These include division of assets, responsibility of debts, spousal support (alimony) amounts, etc., issues that will eventually have to be addressed once you have filed for divorce.
 
In addition to these considerations, in California there is the added advantage of hastening the divorce process by first filing for legal separation.  The reason for this is that California, a no-fault state, does not allow for legal separation unless BOTH spouses agree to that route or one spouse defaults after having been served with the petition.  According to Legal Separation VS. Divorce in California, by Beverly Bird, “This means he must either refuse to participate in the process, allowing it to proceed without objection, or file a response to your petition, consenting to the legal separation. Otherwise, you have no choice but to file for divorce instead.”  

The requirements to file for legal separation are not as restrictive as they are for a divorce.  In order to file for divorce in a certain California county, you must reside in that county for at least three months and in California for at least six months immediately prior to filing the court papers.   This is not the case in legal separation, which has no time restrictions, which means you can file your paperwork with the Court right away which will result in a shorter time to finalize the case if you want to file in your new County of residence.  You can file the separation petition immediately, and then later amend that Petition to divorce once you have lived in that county for the required time.  The three/six month requirements begin from the moment you file that first Petition for Legal Separation. 

So many news articles today seem to favor legal separation over divorce for financial reasons, but they don’t take into consideration the long-term emotional effects of living in that limbo state of not being part of a married couple while still technically being married.  How can you move on, from a situation that obviously didn’t work, towards a new life without actually ending that situation?  Do you want to eventually meet someone else?  How will you explain the situation of not being able to fully commit to them because you are still married to someone else?  Even if this past experience has soured you on the whole concept of matrimony,  being labeled a “technical cheater” is perhaps not the best face you want to show to a prospective partner of any kind.  And the most harmful side effect to staying perpetually separated, if you have children, is the hope you are unconsciously giving them that their parents might get back together and reassemble the family they remember through rose colored glasses.  Finalizing that divorce may be just the signal everyone needs to adjust to the new reality.
1 Comment

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Categories

    All
    Child Custody
    Children
    Divorce
    Parenting Time
    Technology
    Teenagers

    RSS Feed

Search TDC Family Law

Find us on FACEBOOK
Find us on GOOGLE
10.0Tracy Duell-Cazes
Tracy Duell-CazesReviewsout of 10 reviews
Law Pay Logo
© 2021 TDC FAMILY LAW  All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer - Privacy Policy 
1530 THE ALAMEDA, SUITE 108
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95126
TEL: 408-267-8484/FAX: 408-267-8489
www.TDCFAMILYLAW.COM


Santa Clara County/San Mateo County San Jose, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Palo Alto, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Redwood City


DIVORCE/CHILD CUSTODY/CHILD VISITATION/CHILD SUPPORT/SPOUSAL SUPPORT/PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL PROPERTY DIVISION/CONTEMPT/MODIFICATIONS/DCSS/COURT APPEARANCES/PRIVATE SETTLEMENT JUDGE/EX PARTE MOTIONS/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/RESTRAINING ORDERS/BUSINESS MATTERS/CONSULTING ATTORNEY IN MEDIATION/ REGISTERED DOMESTIC PARTNERS (RDP) AND SAME SEX MARRIAGES
Website updated and maintained by Boxer Media Services Corp.
  • Home
  • PRACTICE AREAS
    • Divorce
    • Spousal Support
    • Child Support
    • Child Custody
    • Visitation
    • Complex High Asset Divorce
    • Contempt of Court
    • Paternity
    • Mediation Coaching
    • Alternative Dispute Resolution - Mediation and Collaborative Divorce
    • Parenting Coordination
  • Bio
    • Certified Family Law Specialist
    • What to Expect
  • Blog
  • FAQ
    • What does the area of Family Law cover?
    • Things To Do After a Divorce is Finalized
    • Annulment
    • Attorney Fee Awards in California
    • Community Property
    • Difference Between Guardianship and Adoption
    • Difference Between Marriage and Domestic Partnership
    • Difference Between Physical and Legal Custody
    • Divorce Process in California
    • Domestic Violence
    • Go to Court for Spousal or Child Support
    • Legal Grounds for Divorce in California
    • “Move Away” After Divorce
    • No Fault Divorce
    • Parenting Plan
    • Residency Requirements for a Divorce in California
    • Summary Dissolution
    • Supervised Visitation
    • The impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 on Divorce
    • What does it mean to have a fiduciary relationship to your spouse?
    • What is a Request for Order Hearing?
  • Resources
  • Contact