Legal Separation AlterDecko: My wife says she wants a legal separation. What is this?
Re:Legal Separation Lonelyi in PA: Depends .. some states recogize it some do not. PA does not recognize legal separation.. I'll tell you what I do know for PA.
We can live apart for two years.. we're still legally married in the eyes of the state. After two years he can file for no fault divorce. You start to separate the entangled bits of your lives.. like close out joint bank accounts and open new ones in your name only. This makes it harder to see how finances are being spent and in case of emergency it makes it harder to access the other's money but it is still possible. On the bad side if he gets drunk and kills someone I could be hit financially since I am his spouse. Also since we're still married assets are not divided. In a divorce assets (401 k's, IRA's, CD's) get split.. I don't believe they get diviied up in a separation.
Sorry I can't be much more help.. I'm still learning as well. Got to hit a book store soon. :-\
Re:Legal Separation > i hate to be sarcastic, but.. julymale: your life (well, depends how your life has been) is about to take a turn to the surreal.. out there.. left field.. (hey, i'm just trying to keep it light, in light of the graveness of the situation, if you're offended, let me know and i'll erase this post)
Re:Legal Separation Chris242: My wife and I also agreed on a legal separation. Well, I have come to find out that in the state we live in (Georgia) there is no such thing as a legal separation. There is something called a "separation agreement" which basically spells out the terms of the separation, including who gets what. If we do indeed get divorced (which it looks like we will) this can be included in the divorce settlement.
