Legal Question in Family Law in California

It is most definitely not automatic. I am also wondering if you really are legally separated. Legal separation is essentially a divorce in everything but the name. It is almost exclusively used for people who have a religious proscription against divorce and a few rare occasions where divorce is otherwise problematic, the Prince and Princess of Wales being an example. As rare as a true legal separation is, it is much rarer for people to do that instead of divorce and then later divorce. If you have really actuallly been legally separated, meaning you went to court and did everything involved in a true legal separation, you would most likely easily qualify for the summary divorce proceedings in the Family Code. Even if you are misusing the term "legally separated," after all that time a summary dissolution may be available.