Definition

• In Iowa, a couple is "legally separated" if a court has declared that, though they are not divorced, their assets and debts are no longer joint and that they have an arrangement for alimony and for child custody, visitation and support.
  
  

How to Become Separated

• To become legally separated, you must submit a settlement agreement to a court. The document must address how you are dividing your assets and your debt, who has custody of the children, who is paying child support and how much (if any), and who is paying alimony and how much (if any). You are best off having an attorney prepare this form, though you can also obtain templates, written by attorneys, through the Internet.
  
  

Advantages

• Many couples choose to become legally separated, rather than divorced, because neither of them has resided in Iowa long enough to be eligible for divorce--the requirement is six months--or because their religion prohibits divorce. Another advantage of legal separation is that it allows one spouse to continue being covered by the medical insurance of the other.
  
  

Disadvantages

• Becoming legally separated in Iowa costs the same as getting divorced from the point of view of court fees, and at the end of the process you are still married. After becoming separated, you may not marry someone else. Also, becoming separated does not prevent you or your spouse from filing for divorce.
  
  

In Preparation for Divorce

• In Iowa, divorces are granted if one of the spouses is impotent or insane, or has committed adultery or engaged in cruel or humiliating behavior against the other. Barring any of these circumstances, you can also be granted a divorce if you have lived separately for 18 continuous months. Therefore, some couples obtain a legal separation so that, during the 18 months they are living apart before getting divorced, they will have a clear separation of both their belongings and their responsibilities for their chidren.