{"id":355,"date":"2021-06-14T22:44:08","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T22:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/?p=355"},"modified":"2021-07-22T21:03:17","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T21:03:17","slug":"filing-for-a-divorce-or-a-legal-separation-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/divorce\/filing-for-a-divorce-or-a-legal-separation-in-california\/","title":{"rendered":"FILING FOR A DIVORCE OR A LEGAL SEPARATION IN CALIFORNIA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Divorce proceedings are\ncomprehensive and begin with the filing of a Petition for Dissolution of\nMarriage. A case file is opened and a judge is assigned to the case when the\nPetition is filed. The petition and summons are subsequently served on the\nrespondent, who has 30 days to file his or her response. “Summons” is\na legal document that serves as notification that a lawsuit is pending.<\/p>

Divorce<\/strong> in California<\/h3>

In divorce cases, the date\nthe petition and summons served on the respondent is critical. Before the\nparties to a divorce can have their marital status terminated, there is a\nmandatory waiting period, a cooling off period which is 6 months. <\/p>

A conclusion is derived when both entities are involved in reaching a written agreement that incorporates into a judgment or when the court issues one post-trial, the case is considered close. <\/p>

<\/p>

Legal Separation in California<\/strong><\/h3>

Though there are many similarities between divorce and legal separation, as mentioned below, the two actions have significant legal differences. Divorce, as opposed to legal separation, has far-reaching legal repercussions. <\/p>

<\/p>

Differences between a dissolution of marriage and legal separations<\/strong><\/h2>

While there are many\nsimilarities between divorce and legal separation actions, as discussed below,\nthere are also significant legal differences between the two. <\/p>

Parties who get a legal\nseparation judgment are still legally wedded to each other, whereas parties who\nreceive a dissolution of marriage decree are no longer married.<\/p>

\u25cf There may be tax\nimplications. <\/p>

\u25cf Benefits from Social\nSecurity. If the couple isn’t divorced but has a legal separation agreement,\nit’s a good idea to look into what, if any, benefits the other spouse may be\nentitled to.<\/p>

\u25cf Issues with retirement\naccounts might arise.<\/p>

\u25cf Beneficial issues may occur, similar to \u201cdeath benefits\u201d, including certain life insurance policies, retirement accounts, etc.<\/p>

<\/p>

Similarities between\na dissolution of marriage and legal separations:<\/strong><\/h2>

\u25cf Both cases result in a\njudgment; a legally binding document.<\/p>

\u25cf Both cases are initiated\nwith the same document and filed in the family court where a summons is issued\nand the respondent is served.<\/p>

\u25cf Both parties are required\nto disclose property details, investments, etc. <\/p>

\u25cf Similar hearings.<\/p>

\u25cf Any one of the spouses\ninvolved can file for an RFO (Request For Order Hearings).<\/p>

\u25cf Similar issues like child support and custody, spousal support, use and possession of the residence, etc.<\/p>

<\/p>

Which one of these is ideal in California?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>

In either case, you have to\nbe prepared for being a part of a lawsuit. Some procedures may vary as others\nmight be similar. A very minimal percentage of legal separations is observed as\nit has far too many negatives involved. Many of the perceived benefits of legal\nseparation don’t hold water in reality. Both of these options have to be\nweighed down carefully as most parties end up divorcing after a legal\nseparation as it is not an ideal situation as convincing as it may sound. <\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Divorce proceedings are comprehensive and begin with the filing of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. A case file is opened and a judge is assigned to the case when the Petition is filed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-divorce","category-legal-separation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getdivorcepapers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}