Divorce and Legal Seperation Questions Answered

There comes a time in a marriage when many couples start to wonder if divorce or legal separation is the answer. If you have exhausted all measures and think that you might want a divorce you should consider legal separation as an alternative. Divorce and legal separation are different and the same in many ways.

There are many benefits to both legal separation and divorce and I will explain these to you but first I must tell you that I am not a lawyer in anyway nor do I claim to be one. I am a college student with a major in political science and the study of pre-law.

What is a divorce and who can obtain one

Divorce is defined in Wikipedia's Divorce and Resolution of marriage as being a final termination to a marriage. There are many grounds for divorce but only a few are often used such as reconcilable differences. There are different procedures that you must take to get a divorce and it has been estimated that one out of two marriages will end in divorce which means that you will have a 50% chance of your marriage working.

Divorce seems to be easier to obtain than what it was a hundred years ago and I tend to blame this on society's way of thinking that if a marriage doesn't work then you always end it. When there are children involved in a divorce it tends to make things more complicated since the judge will have to decide who should have the children, was support needs to be paid, and what the visitation schedule should be.

Legal separation and who should get legally separated

There are many reasons to get a legal separation but first we must talk about the definition of legal separation. According to Self - Help Center on Introduction to Divorce, Legal Separation, and annulment a legal separation is for couples who still wish to be married but prefer to live apart and decide on certain things such as money, property, and parenting issues and some even wish to obtain a legal separation instead of a divorce due to religious reasons.

A legal separation should be obtained for those individuals who need time apart but still wish to remain married. A lot of people get legal separations instead of divorces for insurance purposes or because they are not sure if divorce is the right choice at the moment. Legal separations are about as easy to obtain as a divorce and some judges even applaud those who want a legal separation instead of a divorce since it gives the couple's time to decide on what they truly want.

The difference between divorce and legal separation

Now comes the time when you are wondering what the difference is between divorce and legal separation. The difference is that with a divorce you can remarry whomever you want and your property is no longer your spouses or ex-spouse. With a divorce you can claim everything separate and you get to make all legal decisions. A legal separation allows you to stay married but not live together. Legal separation also allows you to file separate tax returns and you can keep your insurance together. A legal separation is sometimes better than divorce since you may reconcile and not have to get remarried to your spouse since there was never a divorce. A legal separation may also help you since you will be able to file social security benefits on your spouse after so many years of being married and it also helps spouses of people in the military by allowing them the full spousal benefits.

How do I file a divorce or legal separation?

Most people would advice you to get in contact with an attorney but you can do this on your own without being out a lot of money. There are a lot of law libraries that offer this information for free along with free forms for filing or you check on the web for free divorce and legal separation forms. Once you fill out these forms you will need to take them to the court and have the judge to sign them and they will enter the information into the computer.