What is a Legal Separation?
A legal separation is designed to allow partners who are married to live separately while still remaining married. This is accomplished in a similar process to divorce, but with many distinguishing factors. The biggest defining concept of legal separation is that you do not want to completely end your marriage, but require physical separation to amend matters. In contrast, a divorce will most always entail at least one party wanting a permanent end to the marriage.
Legal separation allows for the parties to divide property, debts, and parental responsibilities such as custody of children along the same lines as a divorce. Additionally, all agreements made between the spouses are legally binding until they are changed in court or the couple reconciles. In most cases , legal separation is temporary until the couple is ready to move forward, while divorce is permanent.
While not for every couple, legal separation can be the best option for some people who want to remain married while sorting out their relationship. Reasons for wanting a legal separation rather than a divorce can vary greatly, including religious or cultural beliefs requiring those involved to be legally married while otherwise separated, discovering financial issues that require remedial action along with physical separation, or even allowing parents the ability to co-parent while living separately (perhaps to maintain a primary caregiver at one home without extracting a child from the previous familiar context).
The Perks of Hiring a Local Legal Separation Lawyer
Hiring a lawyer who is familiar with the local laws and courts can be a big advantage in any legal separation process. For example, if you do not know what the laws are concerning legal separation, hiring a local lawyer will help you get to know the local laws better. Local lawyers that are familiar with the local family court will help give you information on child support, alimony, and child custody when you live in the area. It may be easier to ask a local attorney certain questions that you want to know about in the future that will affect the process. When the particular laws or courthouses are familiar and accessible to both you, your attorney, and their staff, you collectively have a better chance of finding the right information about your case and also protecting your rights as much as possible.
Considerations to Make When Hiring a Legal Separation Lawyer
Experience is vital when it comes to selecting a legal separation lawyer. Your circumstances, in most ways, can be unique to you. Having an experienced legal professional tackle a separation can help ensure that the process goes smoothly and that you aren’t left dealing with any surprises.
When selecting a separation lawyer, you should also seek someone who specializes in divorce and separation. Hundreds of lawyers have experience with legal separations; very few specialize in divorce and separation. Divorce and separation law is complex and it’s easy to get lost or confused. Having someone by your side who specializes in divorce and separation law can ensure that you’re protected in the long run.
Finally, reputation and testimonials are important, especially for those seeking the "best" divorce and separation attorney. A specialist is of no use if he/she has a poor reputation and/or poor testimonials. If your lawyer has bad reviews, why take the chance? Before hiring a separation and divorce lawyer, check their reviews. Read what their clients are saying. It is better to deal with a doctor than an amateur during a medical emergency. It is better to deal with a specialist than an amateur during a divorce and separation.
Questions to Ask Your Legal Separation Lawyer
Although there are many legal separation lawyers available, it can be a bit difficult finding the perfect one. You must first make an appointment for a consultation, which you are sure to have a lot of questions during. Here is a list of some important questions to ask during an initial consultation:
- How long have you been practicing law?
- Have you ever handled cases like mine in the past? If so, what was the outcome?
- How much will I be paying for your legal services? Are there any additional fees?
- Do you accept payment plans? If so, what do I need to qualify?
- If we do end up going to court, what is the fee based on, hourly or a flat rate?
- In your opinion, what are the odds that my case will go to court?
- Will you be handling my case, or will it be passed down to another attorney or paralegal?
- If someone else handles my case, how easily accessible will I be to them?
- What is your strategy for my case, if I do face legal separation?
- Can you provide me with a written retainer agreement before we go into the details of my case?
- Will my insurance cover your legal fees for this case?
- How long can my legal separation take?
- How often will we communicate during the case?
- Can you explain to me the times that you will be out of the office or unavailable?
- Will I be able to contact you and other members of the legal separation firm after hours, or do they have other staff at the office that handle calls after hours?
Where to Find Legal Separation Lawyers Near You
Typically, the best way to find legal separation lawyers near you is to get recommendations from those who have recently gone through a legal separation. If none of your acquaintances knows any good separation lawyers, you can turn to your local professional association of family lawyers or the state bar association. Many of these associations have pipelines for vetting and recommending prestige lawyers in your area.
The American Bar Association, the nation’s leading lawyer association, which has a legal separation center on its website, recommends checking with your state’s Bar Association. It’s also a good idea to contact your state’s chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers if you’re specifically looking for matrimonial lawyers .
Most of the time, however, people simply jump in and check out the top-ranked legal separation lawyers they can find in their state or region. The U.S. News & World Report publishes rankings for legal separation lawyers so checking out that website is a great place to start your search.
Another way to find lawyers is to simply visit avvo.com, which is a lawyer directory where you can read reviews of lawyers, read expert advice from lawyers, and ask free questions of lawyers. On the site, you can search for lawyers in your area and then look for separations lawyers there.
Of course, as with all internet research for a family lawyer, there are a lot of scams to watch out for so make sure to conduct due diligence for any law firm and lawyers you’re considering working with.
What is the Function of a Legal Separation Lawyer?
During a legal separation proceeding, the role of a legal separation lawyer is to protect and advocate for your best interests. A good lawyer will often act in the role of advisor, mediator, and advocate on your behalf as issues are negotiated and finalized.
As mentioned above, legal separation is an alternative to divorce. In many cases, it offers couples the chance to live apart from one another while maintaining all of the financial and legal protections that they had while married. For many couples, this decision is made with full awareness that, if things do not work out, the legal separation can then be converted into a divorce. Without the proper legal separation judgment, this will not be possible.
Such attorneys will also be able to help with the drafting of paperwork associated with a legal separation and provide input on how to best divide and share property, child custody, and spousal support obligations. Finally, a legal separation lawyer can help with negotiating on your behalf with your spouse or their attorney, so that the final judgment reached is fair, just and in your best interests.
What to Bring to Your First Appointment with a Legal Separation Lawyer
When you find yourself needing to meet with a legal separation lawyer, it’s important that you’re prepared. There’s a lot of information that you will need to discuss, and having as much documentation prepared ahead of time will help you get through the meeting quickly.
It’s a good idea to have anything in writing that you already know about your finances and assets. This includes information such as bank accounts, credit cards, any kinds of loans or mortgages on real estate you might own and other debts. If you have an idea of what alimony or child support you may need to pay, or that your spouse might be seeking, make some notes about that. It’s not necessary to try to add things up or make any calculations, but having all of this basic information about your finances available will give you a clearer picture of your starting point.
It’s also important to be honest with your lawyer about the situation at hand. If you and your spouse are still living together or you are on decent terms , make them aware of the current climate in your relationship. The circumstances under which you’ll seek separation are different for everyone, and there can be a wide variety of issues that arise out of separation. For example, you may find that you are still on good terms with your spouse and are able to work out some aspects of the divorce fairly easily, or you could have concerns about a history of domestic violence. Whatever your situation, it’s important to be open with your lawyer so that you can make the best decisions possible throughout the separation process.
It may also be helpful to both you and your spouse to have some information about your family’s household expenses, including things like food, utilities and any monthly bills. If you’re already separated, make sure to keep receipts for any money you’re spending during this time. Having this information on hand can be invaluable later on if you’re able to avoid a contentious separation and came to an agreement without the intervention or mediation of the courts.