Legal Question in Family Law in Colorado

Re: Seperation, Legal Seperation and Divorce

Separation per se, is an informal arrangement. The date of an informal separation might become important when dividing assets and debts in a divorce or legal separation. It might also be related to determining which parent is the primary care parent, which can be significant in determining the ease with which a parent can leave the state with the children. Legal Separation is almost divorce by another name. You go through exactly the same process to obtain a legal separation as you do a divorce, except that in the end you are still married. You're finances are divided and the children may be divided. People usually use legal separation when they have a religious reason they don't want to be divorced, or becuase they want to stay on the same health insurance policy--although some insurance companies have denied joint coverage to legally separated spouses. A legal separation can be converted after 6 months to a divorce by either spouse, regardless of the other spouse's wishes.