when the actual date of separation is determined it freezes a spouse s ability to freely spend money from a joint credit card or bank account it also limits control over other assets such as properties and vehicles 3
reaching a 10th anniversary is a monumental occasion but it is also a milestone that affects future benefits for couples deciding to part ways a legal separation may keep benefit entitlements intact for example military spouses must remain married for a decade to take advantage of the benefits provided by the uniformed services former spouse protection act 4also having remained married for at least 10 years qualifies ex spouses for certain spousal social security benefits 5 if your spouse will draw significantly more social security than you will in retirement it is beneficial to remain married for a minimum of 10 years so you can draw a larger sum by drawing on your spouse s social security retirement benefits a legal separation is as serious as a divorce because both are orders of the court containing duties and obligations that each party must legally uphold if the couple later divorces judges may consider the details of the separation agreement when ruling on a divorce other types of separationlegal separation isn t the only option for couples who prefer to separate instead of divorce unlike a legal separation a trial separation is an informal decision by a couple to temporarily separate as the name suggests couples use this approach when they aren t entirely certain about the separation and want to test whether or not a separation is right for them 6permanent separation is considered by some to be the stage preceding a legal separation unlike a trial separation the couple has at this point decided to separate permanently and assume there is no hope for reconciliation 6 however for whatever reason perhaps due to health insurance issues costs or just inertia the couple has not taken action to mark the separation in court separation vs divorce vs annulmentthough a divorce marks the official end of a valid marriage an annulment treats the marriage as if it had never happened when a judge grants an annulment it indicates that the court does not recognize the arrangement as having been a legally valid marriage there are a number of scenarios in which a person can request an annulment among them 7