Legal Separation
Legal Separation is a court process designed to define the important rights and obligations between spouses when they live apart, but do not want divorce.
The decree for legal separation establishes rules between the spouses regarding such issues as child custody, visitation, and spousal maintenance (alimony). It also divides property and usually debt. However, unlike divorce, the marital bonds are not severed and the spouses continue to be husband and wife.
If, at any time during the legal separation, or thereafter, either spouse believes that the differences between them are irreconcilable, he or she may file a motion to convert to a dissolution of the marriage.
Written by Joseph E. Cordell
Joseph E. Cordell is the Principal Partner at Cordell and Cordell, P.C., which he founded in 1990 with his wife, Yvonne. Over the past 25 years, the firm has grown to include more than 100 offices in 30 states, as well as internationally in the United Kingdom. Mr. Cordell is licensed to practice in the states of Illinois and Missouri and received his LL.M. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Joseph E. Cordell was named one of the Top 10 Best Family Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction in Missouri.
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