Legal Separation Long Beach | Los Angeles| Orange County
A judgment of Legal Separation can accomplish the same goals as a judgment of divorce. It can decide custody and visitation of children, child and spousal support, division of property and debts, and domestic violence issues. But, you are not divorced and therefore cannot remarry. People choose this option over divorce sometimes to maintain the other party on their health insurance, or to begin the dissolution process prior to meeting the California residency requirements, or due to personal or religious aversion to an actual divorce. But, by far the most common reason to file for legal separation is because the residency requirement for divorce is three months in the county and six months in the state. If you live in a county but don’t meet the residency requirements for divorce you can file for legal separation and later amend the petition to file for divorce when you meet the residency requirements for divorce. The good thing about doing this is that the six-months waiting period for divorce goes back to when you first serve the petition for legal separation. It does not start over when you amend the petition to file for divorce.
