Divorce, Legal Separation or Annulment?

Divorce, legal separation and annulment serve different purposes. Which one is right for you depends on your unique circumstances.

Divorce

If you have a valid marriage and want to end it, divorce may be right for you. In San Mateo County, divorce is “no fault” — meaning you don't have to convince a court that your circumstances justifies ending your marriage contract.

The one asking for the divorce has to prove that they were a California resident for at six (6) months and a lived in the county where they're filing (e.g., San Mateo) for at least three (3) months before filing. This six month/three month rule only applies in divorce proceedings; it doesn't apply to legal separation or annulment proceedings.

To get a judgment of divorce, both you and your ex have to give each other financial information (financial disclosures), and prove that you've given that information (file proof of service) with the court. The earliest the court can finalize your divorce (enter a divorce judgment) is six (6) months after the petitioner serves the responding party with a copy of the divorce petitioner and summons.

If the two of you have been married for less than five years, have no children from the marriage, own very little (if any) community property, and owe very little community debt, it is possible to get what is called a summary dissolution of marriage.

Annulment

If your marriage contract was invalid from the start, Annulment is the right course of action. When a court grants an annulment, legally the marriage never existed. This can have a significant impact when figuring out spousal support and equal division of community property. This is because parties to an invalid marriage are generally not entitled to claim spousal support or claim a community property interest in property acquired during the invalid marriage.

Legal Separation

There are some situations where legal separation is a better option than divorce. For example, divorce is not an option for some because of their religious values; for them legal separation is an option. For others, financial reasons, such as wanting to continue filing joint tax returns, or not wanting to remove a spouse from existing medical coverage, may lead them to elect to file for legal separation. Strategic or procedural reasons may guide others to seek legal separation instead of divorce; for example, where the party cannot meet the jurisdictional requirements for filing a divorce, they may be able to instead file for legal separation and later convert their case to a divorce action.

• Whether you wish to file for divorce, annulment or legal separation a divorce attorney from our offices can help you. Contact us for an affordable consultation to go over all of your legal options and give you specific answers to your questions.