Legal Separation - Information

What is Legal Separation?

A legal separation occurs when two parties separate and a court rules on the division of property, alimony, child support, custody, and visitation rights, but does not grant a divorce. The money awarded for support of the spouse and children in a legal separation is often called separate maintenance, as opposed to alimony and child support.

If you are legally separated, you cannot marry anyone else until the legal separation is converted to a divorce, and then you must wait six months. Also, if you are legally separated and you reconcile with your spouse, you can dismiss the legal separation and thus restore the marriage, whereas if you legally divorce, you will have to remarry your spouse. Also, in some circumstances, one spouse may be eligible for continuing health coverage from the other spouse's employer, even after a legal separation is granted.

Are there Advantages to Legal Separation?

For some people, a legal separation is desired to set the parameters for dealing with one another while living separate and apart (especially with respect to continuing support obligations and child sharing issues) while maintaining the status of being married, and leaving the door open for a reunion/resumption of marriage.

• If a non-employee spouse has a pre-existing condition or for some other reason will not be able to get medical insurance, some plans allow you to keep a separated spouse on the employee spouse’s health insurance.
• To remain legally married until the ten-year deadline for certain Social Security benefits.
• To remain legally married until the ten-year deadline for military pension enforcement advantages or a twenty-year deadline for PX and commissary benefits.

Should I hire a Legal Separatiom Attorney?

A legal separation attorney can help you decide if legal separation is right for you.