Legal Separation
A legal separation is similar to a divorce action in that it addresses the same issues that a divorce does, with the exception of addressing the issue of what will happen in the event of the death of one spouse. A legal separation is generally used for religious purposes or insurance purposes. Since a party is not permitted by the health insurance companies to carry a spouse on their health insurance after the divorce is final, many people are opting for a legal separation so that they may still provide insurance for the former spouse.
Legal separation is also used as a tool when the parties’ have not met the jurisdictional requirements to file for divorce. This may be a starting point that can later be amended with the Court’s permission to modify the Petition from Legal Separation to Dissolution.
Finally, a legal separation can be used when the parties are not certain that they want to proceed with a divorce, but want the security of knowing that they are not responsible for the other parties’ debt obligations during the separation or otherwise want a roadmap for the separation time.
It is important to note that both parties have to be in agreement that the action proceed as a Legal Separation. For instance, if the Petitioner files the matter as a Legal Separation but the Respondent files the response as a Dissolution, the action then proceeds as a Dissolution and not a Legal Separation.
| Credit Cards Accepted |
NOTE: The use of the Internet for communications with the firm will not establish an attorney-client relationship and messages containing confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent.