Is a Divorce Right for You?

If you are currently living in northern California and are contemplating ending your marriage through a divorce, here is some basic information on what a divorce entails.  A “divorce,” or “dissolution of marriage,” legally terminates your marriage or domestic partnership.  After you are legally divorced, you are considered “single” and are free to remarry or enter into a new domestic partnership.  However, a divorce is not right for every couple.

If you want to end your financial and personal life with your partner, but do not want a legal divorce, there are other alternatives for you.  Some people may choose to pursue a “legal separation” instead.  This is often done for religious reasons.  A legal separation does not end a marriage or domestic partnership.  Rather, it allows you to live apart and make independent decisions on finances, property, and child care issues.

Another alternative to a divorce is an annulment.  However, this option is very rare.  An annulment occurs when a court finds that your marriage or domestic partnership was never valid in the first place.  Marriages may be void because the marriage was incestuous, bigamous, fraudulent, or one of the spouses lacked capacity to enter into the marriage.

For more information about divorce, legal separation, and annulment, please contact our attorneys at Lonich Patton Erlich Policastri.  Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.