Posted by DivorceLine in A California legal separation is a legal separation where the court makes orders about youngsters, aid, and property but makes it possible for the couple to live apart even though legally joined.
This is helpful for couples who can’t live together but have religious or moral factors to stay clear of divorce; or emotional or financial factors to delay divorce. A divorce is normally a far better choice than a Legal Separation unless you have strong factors not to get one.
Even though the official terminology is “Legal Separation” instead of “divorce separation”, since of prevalent usage I will use the two terms interchangeably. According to California law, there are six areas in which a California divorce separation differs from a standard divorce. Here are three of them:
1. Residency requirement: You can file your case for California divorce separation in the California county where you or your spouse live, even if you just moved there. There is no three-month/6-month residency requirement.
2. Waiting period: Unlike a divorce, a Legal Separation in California does not have a six month waiting period after service of the Summons prior to it can grow to be final. The only time limitation is how swiftly you can complete the paperwork. But for the pace of bureaucracy, you can have your Judgment as soon as 31 days after serving the Petition (California Family Law form FL-100) and Summons (California Family Law form FL-110) if the case goes by default, or even instantly on filing for it if your papers are all completed and the Respondent signs the Appearance, Stipulation and Waiver form (FL-130).
3. Both spouses need to consent: According to California Family Code 2345, a court might possibly not render a judgment of Legal Separation with out the consent of both parties, unless one party fails to make a general appearance (defaults). If your spouse contests the California divorce separation you will ought to work out the terms to reach agreement on the problems. Then your spouse can file an Appearance & Waiver to let the case go on. If you completely can’t get agreement, you will almost certainly require a lawyer.
How to fill out the forms
To file for a California divorce separation, you use the identical California divorce forms that you would use for a typical divorce, but you ought to do a couple of issues differently. Complete directions for how to do this are beyond the scope of this write-up, but here are some ideas:
Marital Settlement Agreement: The wording employed in a Settlement Agreement for a divorce is not written for a Legal Separation, so you will have to change the wording wherever it refers to termination of the marriage or dissolution of the marriage.
For a California divorce separation, this is a fairly very simple agreement, so if you have any doubts or questions about debts, taxes, bankruptcy or future responsibility for your spouse, you need to get help from a family law attorney.
The Petition (California divorce form FL-100):
In the caption section, check the box for Legal Separation instead of Dissolution
For Item One, do not check any box for RESIDENCE
For Item 6 (on the back side of the form), check the boxes for items 6(b)(One) — Legal Separation
based on irreconcilable differences — instead of boxes for Dissolution at 6(a)(One).
Judgment (California divorce form FL-180)
For the caption, check the box for Legal Separation instead of Dissolution
For Item 4, do not check box 4a, nor enter a date for marital status to end mainly because it does NOT end. Instead, check box 4b, Judgment of Legal Separation.
Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution (California divorce form FL-170)
In the caption, check the box for Legal Separation.
Check box 22 and do NOT check box 18, 19, 20 or 21.
Notice of Entry of Judgment (California divorce form FL-190)
Check box 4 instead of box One.
Leave blank the section that asks for “Efficient date of termination of marital status.”
Going to a Hearing
You will ought to modify your testimony to fit the wording for Legal Separation. Maintain in mind the differences between divorce and Legal Separation listed at the beginning of this write-up and adjust your testimony accordingly, and use the words “Legal Separation” everywhere that folks obtaining divorced would use “Dissolution” or “Divorce.”
When your Judgment is entered, you are legally separated and you ought to file taxes as an unmarried individual beginning with the year in which your Judgment is entered. This means you can file either as single, or head of household if you have a qualifying dependent.
