Filing for divorce permanently dissolves a marriage, protects your rights, and allows you to move on with your life. However, if you have religious objections to divorce or need to retain some of the benefits marriage brings, a legal separation may be a better course of action. Before hiring a divorce attorney, it’s important to understand the difference between these two options.

The Differences Between Divorce & Legal Separation

Permanence

Both divorce and separation result in formal decrees settling important issues, such as child custody, division or marital property, and support, but there are some important differences. While a divorce permanently and completely severs the legal union between you and your spouse, legal separation is usually a temporary situation.

If you and your spouse reconcile, the separation can easily be terminated or converted to a divorce if you decide it’s time to move on. Separation agreements can also be amended if you decide to dissolve the union, while divorce decrees are considered the court’s final decision.

Ability to Remarry

Once a divorce is finalized, each spouse is free to remarry and begin rebuilding their own lives. However, no matter how long a legal separation lasts, neither spouse can get married until the legal union is officially dissolved.

Maintaining Certain Rights

Divorce terminates each spouse’s obligations to the other, but it also ends many of the rights that marriage brings. Divorce attorneys often recommend legal separation to couples who need to stay on their spouse’s health insurance, but you’ll also maintain automatic inheritance rights and hospital visiting privileges.

If your marriage is coming to an end, the divorce attorneys at Osborne, Tripp & Schmidt have the experience and legal expertise to help you choose the right path. They pride themselves on guiding clients throughout the Coulee Region, the Driftless Area, and western Wisconsin through this difficult experience, and providing the friendly, approachable service you deserve. Visit their website for more on their family law services or call (608) 269-2400 to speak with a divorce attorney today.