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What is a legal separation in divorce?
When a couple gets a legal separation, it is very similar to divorce. It will require the same process of filing papers with the court to start a legal process. The court next makes the decisions on where the children will live, debts, and assets in the event of a divorce. In the end, the parties are legally separated rather than being actually divorced. So in essence, this means that they are still married but not responsible for each other and what the other party does.
A legal separation is the best thing to do in the last stages of couples not being in agreement on important issues. It can be a way of taking a break and deciding what each party really wants. There is no reason to hurry into declaring the need for a divorce for some people and it is a decision that has to be well thought out ahead of time just as the marriage should have been.
Often when people are on a legal separation, they will attempt to work things out. However, there are some times where it will not work and the parties' involved want to get a divorce. So no less than one year after the legal separation is granted, one of the parties can petition to convert the separation to a divorce. This can be done without further hearings and the other party cannot do anything to prevent it from happening. People will sometimes have the separation instead of a divorce because of their religious beliefs or for insurance purposes.
If the party wishes to terminate their marriage, they can then get a divorce. In order to do that, parties involved go to court and decide how to handle any questions with the children and how to divide their marital property. Each party is going to be responsible for one half of all marital debts.
One important fact that many couples overlook is the issue of what marital property is defined as. Marital property is anything that the couple bought while they were married. Whether the property is in one person's name or another, it is still considered marital property. It doesn't even matter who purchased it. Bank accounts, pensions, and stocks are marital property even if they are held in one name only. In addition, property brought into the marriage is still marital depending on the length of the marriage and what type of property it is. The court will always be as fair as it can and sometimes the parties involved will make the right choices about being fair in the divorce.
It is always a good thing when a couple can make the appropriate decisions about how things should be split up before actually making the trip to court. Both parties should have attorneys and this will help the progress without having to worry about any legalities. This is the best way to go in order to protect each party's assets and to make sure that the proceedings are fair.
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