Utah County Separate Maintenance Attorney
Separate maintenance, also known as legal separation in Utah, is an interesting legal remedy. It allows a spouse who has been deserted by the bread winning spouse or who lives apart from the bread winning spouse, to get an order from the court that forces the bread winning spouse to provide for the support and maintenance of the other. Why wouldn’t someone just get a divorce? There could be many reasons why.
Often times spouses don’t want to end the marriage and simply want some time to think about their situation and determine weather divorce is the appropriate path to take. Maybe the couple is not in love but they don’t want to deal with the financial fallout of a divorce. Whatever the reason, Utah law makes it so that parties have an option outside of divorce and although a small minority of people opt to file for separate maintenance, it’s there for anyone who qualifies.
If you are looking to get a legal separation in Provo and its surrounding areas our Utah County family law attorneys can help. Call us at 801.800.8247 for a free consultation if you would like to discuss your options for obtaining a legal separation.
Legal Separation
The process of getting a legal separation is similar to that of filing for divorce. It is begun by the filing of a petition in the district court where either party resides (or where the deserting spouse can be found). The petition can ask for child support, alimony, division of real and personal property and basically anything else that would provide for the support of the petitioner. The case is a lawsuit like a divorce and the parties have all the typical right of civil litigants.
If you’re considering going down the road of a legal separation rather than a divorce call us. We’ll give you all your options and advise you on what may be the best approach in your specific situation.