A legal separation can be a viable option for couples who are considering divorce. A legal separation can provide you with the necessary financial and custody protections to thoroughly contemplate your marriage and your options. Your rights and your interests matter; protect them.
Important Decisions
If you and your spouse are experiencing significant marital difficulties but are not ready for or sure about divorce, a separation can help you sort things out. Many people think that the easiest and least stressful option is to quietly separate and simply live apart from one another. While this works for some couples, it doesn’t legally protect your or your children’s best interests. The full or partial dissolution of any marriage is, at best, stressful, and stress can play funny tricks on a spouse that you thought you knew.
While you don’t want to jump to conclusions about your life partner, many people do things under stress that are completely out of character, including simply disappearing or taking new jobs that are thousands of miles away from their children. If your spouse resorts to the unexpected, a casual separation allows you no legal recourse other than a full-on legal battle and the expense and heartache such an endeavor entails. Protecting your and your children’s interests from the beginning provide you with the peace of mind necessary to navigate a difficult process.
A legal separation allows you to pin down several legal issues that – without such legal protections – could easily cause serious problems down the road, including spousal support, child support, alimony payments, division of property, and retirement benefits (to name but a few). The process of obtaining a legal separation allows you to live quietly with the idea – and some of the effects – of a divorce while you contemplate what it could mean for you, your children, and your family.
A Legal Separation Can Help
There are several ways a legal separation can help you navigate the difficult time between separation and reconciliation or divorce:
- Determining where you and your children will live
- Determining a temporary schedule for financial support and visitation
- Determining how your family will proceed, day to day – who will remain in your home, who will take ownership of which vehicles, how the bills will be paid, and so on
Often, you’ll both be more amenable to negotiating in a companionable family spirit that mirrors happier days when a separation first gets started – rather than later when outside forces, bitterness, regret, or whatever else contributed to the dissolution of your marriage in the first place takes a stronger hold. Hammer things out before emotions run amok. If you reconcile later, you can file a declaration of resumption and will suffer no ill effect.
Contact a Stamford Divorce Lawyer Today to Discuss Your Case
If you’re contemplating a legal separation in Stamford, Connecticut, contact the family law attorneys at the Law Offices of Piazza, Simmons & Grant, L.L.C. Obtaining a legal separation can provide you with the time to carefully consider your relationship –and protect your financial and custody options. We’re here to help you preserve your rights, so give us a call at 203-348-2465 today.