Legal Question in Family Law in California

A legal separation can occur very quickly and the timeline depends on your and your husband and how quickly the two of you can come up with an agreement. Divorces take a minimum of six months and a day.

As for whether you want a separation or a divorce, that depends on what your ultimate goals are. If you intend on a divorce no matter what, it saves a lot of time and paperwork to simply start with the divorce. If you obtain a judgment of legal separation and then want a divorce, you're essentially starting all over again with the paperwork.

If your main concern is the house, if your husband signs a quitclaim deed and you don't use any community money to purchase it (meaning that the money you use is your separate property earned after separation), you are reasonably safe. Definitely talk to an attorney for a more detailed analysis of the differences between legal separations and divorces, as well as the potential issues with buying a house prior to your divorce or legal separation. Unfortunately, there is just no way you can receive a detailed enough answer from this posting to make an informed decision.