Saturday, March 20, 2010

Does Legal Separation Always End in Divorce?

Legal Separation is a legal procedure that allows married couples to spend time apart for a variety of reasons as two separate or single people while retaining the legal status of their marriage.

We will first look at some of the advantages of separating over divorce or even annulment. Legal separation is to get a district court order (in the USA) stating the responsibilities both partners have towards each other and the rights they are entitled to enjoy as they live apart. This order is initiated though a petition to the court and the notice is served on the other partner. The court that issues the order has in its power, to solve all the normal problems that are settled in divorce court. So in effect, a situation is created where the two can remain as if divorced, while maintaining their marriage in the legal books.

The first advantage is that since they are still married, one spouse will be covered by the insurance of the other. They will also enjoy social security and pension and such benefits available that are the privilege of married couples. Secondly, though marriage seemed to have lost the sanctity that it had say 50 years ago and divorce rates are much, much higher, followers of certain sects of faith still avoid divorce. However, rather than stay in the confines of what would probably be a difficult situation they can use a legal separation.

In the event of some irrevocable rift in the relationship, couples sometimes seek to divorce quickly. However, the laws of certain states in the USA and the laws of some countries require that the couple be separated from each other for sometime, before they go about unraveling their marriage legally. For couples that are in a hurry to extract themselves from each other, legal separation allows a much quicker alternative. Also couples can use it as a trial, or as an opportunity to spend sometime away from each other and take look at their lives. During this period of trial, the court allows the separation of property and even childcare is allocated to each parents. The drawback some parties find with the legal separation is that, many judges will award the final settlements in divorce cases, based on what was agreed at the time of parting. This probably will be a good point form the wealthier partners view as he or she can get an idea of how much the divorce will cost. However, should you find someone else you wish to enter into marriage with, you would have to pay visit to the divorce courts, as you are still legal married.

On the positive side, legal separation has resulted in people actually saving their marriages, as the time apart had allowed them to look objectively at the situation, work out how to improve their relationship and probably in some cases when one partner thought staying married might be less costly, though it may be cynical to say so.

It could be said that legal separation do not always end in divorce, however not all partners that do not end up divorced are reconciled either.

Christine Crotts enjoys listening to her music or the local talk shows while working in the kitchen. Christine has written a site containing reviews on table radios, as well as the Bose radios.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Understanding Spousal Support

Spousal Support or alimony as it is known in some parts, is a periodic payment, usually monthly, that was either agreed to by the two individuals or determined by the divorce court and paid by one party, the 'Payor' to the other, the 'Recipient'. Normally the wealthier party is expected to pay this and traditionally it has been the 'husband' making monthly payments to the 'wife'.

The origin of spousal support can be traced back at least to the 17th century in England. In those days when a husband acquired the wife's property on marriage, alimony ensured that the woman had an income in the event of divorce. The awarding of monthly financial support ensured that a wife was not punished or made to suffer through the actions of husband that led to the break up of the marriage. This was to ensure that a husband who could afford to pay and maintain the wife, would not go out and commit an act to instigate a divorce, just so the he could avoid supporting the wife. However with the legal proceedings no longer been biased in gender, even males now receive spousal support.

Spousal support is separate form child support and only includes the money for the ex spouse. It aims to ensure that the recipient continues to partake of the Payor's wealth or earning capacity accumulated during the period of marriage. There are several considerations taken into account when alimony is calculated. These may change according to the place where the divorce proceedings were initiated. The length of marriage is a very important aspect and some counties limit the payment to a time period that is less than that of the marriage. Also the gender and the age at the time of separation are considered with women and older recipients getting a better alimony settlement from the courts. An important consideration is approximating the fault that led to the separation. In the event of the blame lying with the intended recipient, courts can refrain from awarding spousal support.

Spousal support awarded through courts can either be 'Rehabilitation support' where the money will fund either an opportunity to obtain professional skills or academic qualifications. Reorientation support is awarded when spouse can show that the property division does not meet with his or her requirements.

It may be of interest to some that there is instigation to get the laws regarding spousal support to reflect the times and get more up to date and in some parts there have been recent changes to the law. Courts try to ensure that the former spouse is able to live in a life style that was similar to what they experienced as a married person. At the same time now share the view that an adult is expected to be able to look after his or her own needs. The idea is to make the laws more clear and that couples can be aware of what they need to pay and are entitled to without a lengthy court case, that are built up on complex legal points.

Christine Crotts likes to play spy games with her young sons. This involves sneaking around, trying to catch the others without being seen. Christine has written a site containing reviews on walkie talkie radio, as well as the waterproof walkie talkie.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Crotts