Legal Separation & Alimony
Many states offer married couples that no longer wish to live together as husband and wife the option of filing for a legal separation as an alternative to divorce. If you have been in a marriage for a number of years and have been financially dependent on your spouse for the majority of the duration of your marriage, you may be entitled to alimony of spousal support as part of your legal separation agreement.
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Effects
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In most states that allow couples the option of filing for a legal separation instead of a divorce, the effect of a legal separation is very similar to that of a divorce. The parties become separate legal entities at the end of the proceeding. The one difference between a legal separation and a divorce is that the couple are still legally married and may not remarry at the end of a legal separation.
Benefits
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For most couples that choose a legal separation over a divorce, the reason for the decision is based on religious or moral objections to divorce. There are, however, practical reasons as well in many cases. If the parties wish to retain rights to retirement benefits or insurance benefits for example, then a legal separation will allow a spouse to continue receiving those benefits in many instances.
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History
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Alimony, or spousal maintenance, was once considered a standard award in many divorces. When divorce was rare, men typically continued to support their wife even if they no longer lived in the home. As divorce became more acceptable, courts needed to devise a fair way to assure that a woman could support herself after a divorce as women rarely worked outside of the home. The idea of spousal support or alimony was created.
Alimony Today
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While some states have done away with the right to alimony altogether, other states have limited the situations in which a spouse may be entitled to alimony. For instance, there may be a length of time that you must have been married in order to request alimony or you may only be entitled to receive alimony for a short period of time after the marriage. Your state may also require you to prove that you are unable to support yourself without the help of your spouse.
Legal Separation
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In states that allow both legal separations and alimony, you can generally request and may be entitled to receive alimony as part of your legal separation agreement. Legal separations are procedurally the same as a divorce action and as a rule anything that could be settled in a divorce proceeding can be settled in a legal separation proceeding.
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References
- Photo Credit man and woman divorced image by Ivonne Wierink from Fotolia.com
