Legal Separation Husband People Wife Married Couples Legally

Sometime married couples who are having "marital" (related to marriage) trouble choose to "file for" (legally request) "legal separation" before they "divorce" (officially end a marriage). Sometimes the people who are legally separated are able to "reconcile" (reach agreement) and continue living together as husband and wife. Other people who are legally separated "end up" (ultimately) filing for divorce.

Legal separation is a helpful tool to allow a husband and wife to make the legal and financial "arrangements" (plans) that will "govern" (control) their divorce. For example, legal separation can help the husband and wife "establish" (determine) who will pay bills, who will "retain" (keep) "jointly owned" (owned by both people) property, and whether "alimony" (payments made by a former husband to his former wife, or by a former wife to her former husband) should be paid.

Legal separation can also be helpful in "deciding custody" (legally determining who will take care of the children after a marriage ends). In the legal separation, the court may determine where the children should live and who should pay their expenses.

Other people file for legal separation because they believe divorce is wrong, or because their church does not allow it. They do not want to continue to be married, but they are not willing to get a divorce, so legal separation is a "viable" (possible; acceptable) option.

In the United States, married couples can file for a legal separation in any state except Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Texas.