September 24, 2021
Legal Separation: Is It Right For You?
A legal separation is an agreement in court that serves many of the same functions as getting a divorce. The critical difference between the two is the fact that a legal separation leaves the marriage on the books. There are stipulations that both parties agree to, but the marriage itself is still legally intact. Manzoor Law Office sees many legal separation cases every year, and they know that it is a major part of family law Roseville CA. Essentially, those who seek out a legal separation are looking to get some of the upsides of living separately from one another without technically getting a divorce at this point in time.
Benefits To Getting A Legal Separation
Someone might ask a Roseville Family Law lawyer to explain to them why two individuals would choose to get a legal separation instead of just getting divorced. It can certainly seem like a lot more work to go through to get to the exact same result. However, this is a bit misleading. The reality is that there are multiple upsides to getting a legal separation that one might not enjoy with a full-on divorce.
- Tax Benefits – The first thing that a Roseville legal separation attorney is likely to point out is the fact that the tax code is written to benefit those who are still legally married. You and your spouse may still want to take advantage of the tax breaks that are extended to married couples. You can still claim these breaks even if you are legally separated, but you will not get them if you go through with a divorce.
- Less Negotiation – We all live busy lives, and you may not be ready to sit down with a Roseville family law attorney and negotiate out an entire divorce. You should still sit with a family law attorney Roseville CA, but you don’t necessarily have to go through nearly as much of a negotiation if you are just looking to do a legal separation rather than a full-blown divorce.
- Financial Considerations – Many couples make the decision to pursue a legal separation rather than a divorce because they do not have the financial stability to live independently. They have decided to move on from their married life with one another, but they may not yet be ready to actually get a divorce and try to go it alone. It is so important to review these concerns and see if you might want to have a legal separation rather than a divorce.
As you can see, there are reasons to go the legal separation route rather than try to get a divorce in certain circumstances. People don’t always realize that getting a legal separation means that they can retain some of these benefits, and that is why it is so important to go over these options with your lawyer.
Child Custody Issues
The child custody Roseville is a whole other ball of wax to go through, but keeping it simple, we can say that a legal separation is often easier on any children caught in the middle. Determining custody of one’s children is almost always a major sticking point when it comes to a divorce, but it is not as big of a deal when the issue on the table is just a legal separation. The two parties can still come together and make agreements with one another about how they would like to handle the children. It is not something that the court necessarily has to lay down strict rulings on in these cases. Therefore, you may prefer to go with the legal separation route instead of pursuing a divorce. You should consider this factor too when weighing out your options for moving forward in the courts.