Legal Separation
Under Kentucky law, legal separation is largely similar to the divorce process, but has a different end result.  The divorce law firm of De Renzo Durrett has provided legal separation services with excellent results to many clients in Louisville and surrounding areas.

Filing for legal separation in Kentucky
As in a divorce, you must file for a legal separation called a petition for legal separation and your spouse must be served with the summons.  Separation law in Kentucky requires that spouses live apart for 60 days.  However, you may live under the same roof providing there is no intimate cohabitation.  If during the separation, you decide you want to divorce, you must wait one year for the dissolution of marriage to be granted.

Separation vs. divorce
Though many couples opt for divorce in the face of problems, some couples find legal separation in Louisville a better solution in certain circumstances, including:

• Despite continued affection between spouses, they desire separate lives, obligations, assets, and responsibilities
• A spouse with serious medical condition is able to receive continued health insurance benefits
• Moral, ethical, or religious reasons prevent a couple from divorcing

Separation agreement
If both parties are able to come to full agreement, the terms of your separation are put in writing and then filed with the court.  A separation agreement may include:

• Property/debt division
• Spousal support
• Child custody, visitation, and support

However, a legal separation is granted only on mutual agreement between spouses.

Requirements for legal separation in Kentucky
Even though a legal separation is not a divorce, similar criteria apply, including:

• The court finds similar facts that support the marriage is irretrievably broken
• The court decides property division, maintenance, custody, and child support
• Separation may be converted to a divorce after one year at the request of either party. 

Separation is different from divorce because:

• You are still technically married
• Neither spouse may remarry 

Converting divorce separation to divorce
Kentucky law states that you must wait a minimum of 365 days after your legal separation before it can be converted into a divorce.  Either spouse wishing to convert a legal separation to a divorce may do so.  However, if the other party seeks modification of the agreement, the court hears it.

Contact our separation attorneys in Louisville
De Renzo Durrett can help you decide whether separation is the right answer for you.  Contact our divorce lawyers today to schedule a consultation.