Dissolution of Marriage

Divorce: Divorce and Legal Separation

Exclusive summary about dissolution of marriage by Steven Carlson

Often people do not differentiate between divorce and legal separation. Both divorce and legal separation refer to the situation when a couple decides not to live together anymore. But being separated is much different than being divorced.

What does legal separation mean? A legal separation generally means that both parties reached an agreement concerning child custody, child visitation, child support, spousal support or alimony, distribution of property, attorney fees, and personal conduct. 

However, in a legal separation both parties remain married to each other. What are the benefits of a legal separation? Legal separation often takes place when both parties prefer to stay married for religious reasons. That’s why legal separation is often coined catholic legal separation since it preserves the religious marriage. Legal separation is not only pursued for religious reasons, but also for tax reasons. However being legally separated is not a requirement before filing a divorce. In other words, a legal separation is not a prerequisite of the dissolution of a marriage or divorce.

If you are considering a legal separation, divorce, or dissolution of marriage you would be wise to consult an attorney who can inform you legally about your particular divorce or legal separation matter.

The Petition For Dissolution - The Statistical Facts

Exclusive summary about dissolution of marriage by Robert Busch

This important part of the Petition-Marriage, the "Statistical Facts", is often overlooked by people anxious to complete the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. 

In determining the correct date of marriage, the biggest challenge is usually poor memory. If you can't remember when you were married, look at your marriage license. Using the correct date of separation is extremely important for two reasons. Secondly, if spousal support (alimony) is going to be an issue, using the correct date of separation is important to make sure you receive the spousal support you are entitled to. For example, in California, where spousal support is appropriate, the length of spousal support payments is determined, in part, by the length of the marriage. In marriages less than ten years in length, the general rule is that spousal support will be paid for one-half the length of the marriage. In marriages that lasted more than ten years, the courts will usually not put a termination date. 

So how do you determine the date of separation? The weakest claim for date of separation arises when one party, without communicating a desire to end the marriage to the other spouse, moves out of the master bedroom, stops being intimate, etc.. Since many couples go through rocky times and then reconcile, the court will generally not consider the parties to have separated absent a communication, spoken (face-to-face, telephone, voice mail), or written (letter, text, e-mail).

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