Conducting a Legal Separation

• A legal separation involves more than just one partner moving out of the home. The partners must sort out their financial affairs as well as settle issues such as whether one partner will remain in the family home and custody and support for any dependent children. The written agreement dictating the terms of the legal separation should be carefully considered; it will often form the basis for the final divorce settlement. This includes any separate maintenance payments that one spouse agrees to make to the other.
  In addition to drawing up the legal separation agreement, spouses who are planning to live apart permanently should make provisions for their separate lives. This includes establishing separate bank accounts, removing one spouse's name from a lease or mortgage, updating titles for automobiles, establishing separate mailing addresses and freezing joint credit accounts. If one spouse is making separate maintenance payments, he or she should keep accurate records in order to make the proper deductions at tax time.
  Spouses who are attempting a trial separation with the hope of reconciling their marriage may also consider a legal separation. In this case, the separation agreement may not have the same sense of final separation, but the terms should be just as clearly spelled out as they are for a permanent separation. In addition, the separation agreement should include a timetable and provisions for permanent separation if reconciliation attempts fail.
  In both a trial legal separation and a permanent legal separation, each party should take personal possessions along when establishing separate residences. Any property left behind that one or the other party wants to claim at a later date should be clearly stated as such in the separation agreement. Just as with the terms of a separation agreement, the final divorce decree will often dictate that each party keeps whatever possessions he or she has, in the absence of a mutually reached arrangement to the contrary.
  It is not required to hire an attorney to draft a separation agreement or to file for legal separation with the court. However, obtaining legal advice is wise, especially with complex cases or substantial property. A legal separation may add to the total expenses a couple faces if they later decide to go through with the divorce. On the other hand, a legal separation often eliminates much of the dispute process of a divorce, making the actual divorce procedure simpler and faster.