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How Do I Get A Legal Separation?

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Filing for legal separation follows the same process as a divorce action with the exception that the court must find that either the marriage is irretrievably broken or that one or both of the parties desires to live separate and apart Instead of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, one files a Petition for Legal Separartion.

Such a choice is usually made because of religious restrictions on divorce, moral objections to divorce, or health insurance concerns. Most insurance policies will continue to carry a legally separated spouse but will not carry an ex-spouse. Some married persons choose to legally separate in order to continue to allow one spouse with medical problems to be covered under the other spouse's medical insurance.

If one party objects after a Petition for Legal Separation has been filed the court cannot proceed on the matter. When a party objects, the court shall direct that the pleadings be amended to a divorce action. If residency is an issue one of the parties must meet the 90 day residency requirement before the action can proceed. So, if one party objects to a legal separation, the parties must either remain married or divorce.

For the most part, physical or legal separation of married parties does not constitute a legal termination of a marriage. This is the case even in circumstances where each party of the marriage has no intention of residing with each other again. However, in some instances, a legal separation may be considered a legal termination of a marriage for immigration law purposes. This occurs when the law of a state or country converts legal separations automatically into divorces after a period of time.

Resources:

WWW.EQUALITYINMARRIAGE.ORG
WWW.ANSWERS.COM
WWW.WORLDLAWDIRECT.COM

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