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CHAPTER 3: SHOULD I GET A DIVORCE OR LEGAL SEPARATION?
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.
~Amelia Earhart
A common question spouses have is whether they should get a legal separation instead of a divorce. The answer depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want some financial protection or you want to continue your health insurance, a legal separation will likely accomplish both. If you want to get remarried, you need to get divorced. It is also common for a spouse to file for a legal separation to stop the debts incurred by the other spouse from becoming a community debt. When a petition for a legal separation is filed and served, each party is then responsible for any debt incurred after that service date.
A legal separation is almost identical to a divorce, except at the end, you are separated and not divorced. The procedures are identical in terms of filing, costs, and the final agreements regarding finances. Financial agreements in a legal separation will become the same financial agreements in a divorce. In other words, you cannot make a decision regarding finances in a legal separation and then change your mind about the same issues in a divorce, unless both parties agree. The financial agreements in a legal separation cannot be changed in a subsequent divorce action, except by agreement of the parties.
