By Jon Arnold 
When a couple is having some marital problems, many times they will opt for a legal separation. This is much like a divorce and typically requires much of the same process of filing legal paperwork with the court. The filing of these papers will start a legal action.
At the end of the filing process, the couple is legally separated but not yet officially divorced. There is an important distinction to be made here because although they are separated, they are not divorced which means that joint ownership of assets still plays a part in their relationship, as does joint credit cards and things of that nature. In some states, one of the partners going out and dating while they are legally separated could be grounds for a claim of infidelity, since they are not divorced and from a legal perspective, they are still married.
Many states recommend a legal separation as a kind of "trial divorce" when a couple is not getting along well. In some ways, it allows both partners to step back and see what it is like to be without the other. Sometimes this can be very beneficial because it allows each of them to take time to see and try to understand what the other wants, and also allows them time to examine their heart to see if divorce is really what they want.
Sometimes a legal separation is a way for a couple to remain married, at least on paper, but not have to deal with the other person or live with them. While unfortunate, there can be advantages to this for particular couples, such as for the purposes of getting much better rates on car insurance as a married couple, or being able to file tax returns with a married filing status. But this is not recommended as a reason for not proceeding with a divorce.
During the legal separation, one or both of the parties may decide that divorce is the best route to follow and can petition the court to convert the legal separation into a divorce proceeding. In most cases, the other spouse cannot argue against this and must go through with the divorce, and for this very reason, it is critically important that the partner requesting the divorce be crystal clear that that is really what they want, because once the wheels are set in motion, it is very difficult if not impossible to stop them.
For more insights and further information about Legal Separation and Divorce please visit our web site at http://www.my-divorce-guide.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_Arnold |
No comments:
Post a Comment