Mens Family Law & Divorce Attorneys San Diego

San Diego Men's Legal Separation Lawyers
Explaining the Process

Many people have an inaccurate understanding of the concept of legal separation, as it’s often confused with what’s known as a trial separation.  While a trial separation is not in essence a legal issue that involves legal processes, a legal separation does.  However, there are marriages in which a legal separation makes sense, and if you’re considering this step you need to seek the advice of San Diego men’s legal separation lawyers immediately so you can be sure this is the proper step for you.  Below is a brief explanation of this step.

Legal Separation Is Similar to a Divorce

In essence, a legal separation is basically a divorce.  Except at the end you are still married.  Clearly, the parties to a marriage are no longer living together.  In addition, most of the processes that are part of a divorce case are also part of a legal separation process.  For instance, the marital estate is divided, child custody is decided and support and other issues are also laid out for both of the parties.  In addition, once a legal separation is entered in the court, the assets and debts accumulated by each spouse remain separate from each other.  Therefore, if someone is experiencing a troubled marriage but thinks it would be repaired, legal separation is not the step to take.  A legal separation as a lawsuit is an antique that has survived the transition in 1970 to no fault divorce.  When people did not have grounds for a divorce under the old fault based divorce system, they were left with a legal separation.

Important Reasons to Seek a Legal Separation

Despite all of the similarities between a legal separation and a divorce and the common misconception regarding it, there are several reasons and situations in which a legal separation makes sense for those involved.  A few of these examples are listed below:

• Religious beliefs – There are religious faiths in existence that do not allow or even recognize divorce, and in these circumstances a legal separation could allow one or both parties to remain in good standing with their faith-based organization.  Legal separation also makes sense if neither party plans to remarry.
• Social Security benefits – There are situations where people need to remain married for a particular amount of time so that one spouse can claim an interest in the other party’s Social Security benefits.  Legal separation will allow this to occur in most situations.
• Medical insurance – Legal separation is a solid approach to take if one of the spouses has significant medical problems that will prevent him or her from being able to obtain his or her own private medical insurance, as that coverage will likely remain in place absent a total dissolution of the marriage.

All in all, a legal separation is a strategy that does make sense for some situations, but many people are surprised to learn that in most cases, a legal separation is not much different than a divorce.  If one party does not agree to a legal separation, the case becomes a divorce.  If you, however, would like to learn more about how such an arrangement could be of benefit, contact the San Diego men’s legal separation lawyers at the Law Offices of James D. Scott today to schedule an initial consultation.