How to Travel with Children Internationally While Divorced or Separated
Gretel Smith, Esq.
October 25, 2024
Legal separation in California allows couples to live apart while resolving important matters such as property division, child custody, and support, all while maintaining their marital status. This process is handled through the courts and requires the submission of formal legal documents. Unlike divorce, legal separation does not require a residency waiting period, allowing couples to address their needs and protect their rights without delay. Legal separation acknowledges the complexities and sensitivities of each family’s situation, offering a path forward with both clarity and compassion.
Staying legally married can help you keep Social Security spousal benefits, military pensions, or other long-term financial benefits that would end with divorce. Legal separation is especially helpful if you’re close to the 10-year marriage mark needed for Social Security spousal benefits.
Legal separation lets couples set boundaries, divide assets, and arrange child support without making things final like a divorce does. Some people just need time apart to think things over or try counseling. Being separated can help couples see if they want to stay together. If you decide to get back together, it’s much easier after a legal separation than after a divorce.
If you’re new to California and haven’t lived here for 6 months, you can file for legal separation first to get court orders. Later, you can change your case to a divorce once you meet the residency rule.
Legally separated spouses can usually stay on each other’s employer health insurance, while divorce usually ends that coverage.
Here are questions we often get about legal separation in California. Click each question to see our answer.
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Being legally separated usually makes divorce simpler, since many big issues are already settled. However, it can be more expensive because you’ll need to file a new petition for divorce, pay extra fees, and go through another legal process.
Both legal separation and divorce take about the same amount of time, but the outcomes are different: one ends the marriage, the other does not. The more you and your spouse agree on, the faster things go. Only divorce in California has a required 6-month waiting period.
In California, there’s no required 6-month waiting period for legal separation, unlike divorce.
If both spouses agree on matters such as property, child custody, and support, a Judgment of Legal Separation can be finalized as soon as all paperwork is submitted and signed by a judge.
Legal separation doesn’t start the 6-month waiting period. If you later file for divorce, the waiting period begins then.
Can You Be Considered Yes. You can be legally separated while living in the same home if you live separate lives. Courts look at things like separate finances, separate bedrooms, and whether you act publicly as separated. The main thing is to stop acting like a married couple.
Choosing legal separation before divorce is a personal choice. It lets couples handle money and custody issues while staying married. This can matter for financial, religious, or personal reasons, or if you’re unsure about divorce.
At Burgos Santoyo Smith, we guide you through every step of the process of your legal separation with both authority and compassion. Our attorneys combine deep community roots, extensive mediation experience, and the personal attention of a small firm. We understand that legal separation is about more than legal outcomes; it’s about safeguarding your family’s future and well-being
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Our legal separation attorneys will help you with your legal separation, so you can start the next chapter in your life.
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