Legal Separation instead Divorce?

When spouses finally decide to formally end the marriage after giving their very best shot, as much as possible, leaving the relationship as peacefully and gently should be a reasonable thing to consider. Coming up to an agreement concerning custody, support, and division of marital property should not be as painful as how the relationship ended.

Legal Separation vs. Divorce

When you get a Legal Separation, it means you remain legally married to each other. You must continue to mark that you are married on forms. You cannot remarry. You still have the right to inherit from each other. A child born to a married woman is legally the child of the other spouse unless proven otherwise.

However, when you divorce your marriage is formally ended. You are no longer married to each other. You are free to remarry. You live your life moving forward as a single person.

Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash

Both create an important division and boundaries required and deemed as valid and useful options, but still a matter of personal preference to choose as needed. Case like the need to continue health and other benefits or other financial reasons is why a legal separation is chosen over divorce.

When getting a divorce, working out on mutual terms and cooperation is needed to resolve issues. Working with skilled attorneys like divorce lawyer Birmingham AL, the parties can potentially work out a settlement that ultimately resolves their disagreements.

Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce

Contested divorce is much more expensive and take much longer, but if no agreement can be reached it is the only way to get awarded what you need by the judge. 

Both parties  does not settle, the judge is the one who is ultimately responsible for making the decisions for the couple. The judge may end up prioritizing some concerns over others, but this may not always align with the priorities of the couple. 

Uncontested divorce is when both parties are able to come to an agreement (either with or without lawyers/mediators/collaborative counsel) about the property, children, and support issues. When the parties can agree and present the court with a fair and equitable agreement, approval of the divorce is almost guaranteed. If the two parties cannot come to an agreement, they may ask the court to decide how to split property and deal with the custody of their children. Though this may be necessary, the courts would prefer parties to come to an agreement prior to entering court.

This process involves mostly paperwork as long as the two of you have agreed on every single marital issue. You would just need to fill out a questionnaire explaining what you’ve agreed to (along with additional information necessary to prepare all of the required forms and documents) in order to get the process started.

Overall, separation is hurtful enough to be followed by bigger conflicts and disagreements with both parties that is why seeking professional help to came up with well-informed decisions can help lessen the burden.

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