Maybe you and your spouse have already decided that your relationship won’t work. For some, this leads to a compromise: we’ll stay in different rooms, take care of our own needs from dinner to laundry, and we don’t need to ever talk.
In this case, maybe you aren’t getting a divorce because you are both too busy with work and kids or other activities to feel bothered to spend time filing a divorce. However, you may want to make divorcing a higher priority than you already have it right now.
- Money for bills
Now that you are both unofficially separated from one another, you are likely to have undertaken paying for your own bills separately. But what if you had relied on your spouse for a long time to bring in most of the money in your household?
When you file for divorce, you can also file an order requesting that your spouse pays you support. Keep in mind that the sooner you file, the sooner you can start getting support. A hearing may not take place for several months; however, the soonest you can start receiving support is the first of the month after you have filed the request.
- Trouble with rent or food for the kids
Another issue could be if you are both living in separate households. This can put more pressure on the money you have available to keep your home and to keep your children fed.
If you have the kids most of the time, you can ask that your spouse pays child support by filing an order alongside your divorce papers. Just with the spousal support, the quicker you file the papers, the sooner you can start receiving support from your spouse.
This also makes it easier for you to ask that they pay for part of the children’s expenses. You will have a third party judging the situation and it will have them be legally obligated to pay support to help you out.
- Need help scheduling time with the kids
It can be hard matching up times with your spouse on your own, especially if the separation wasn’t a great one. Deciding on times and feeling like you are giving up time with your children can be hard to handle.
When you file for a divorce, the court can set a mediation date, where both you and your spouse meet with the mediator. This is a good option if neither of you can agree on a time schedule that works for both of you and would work well for the kids.
- Restraining orders
There are some situations where your spouse could be abusive or threatening you and your children. In these cases, a restraining order can help give you legal protection if they do decide to go anywhere near you and your family again, however.
Filing for a restraining order can lead to removing the abuser from your own and, if it is violated, lead to the abuser’s arrest. Courts can also grant a temporary order in extreme cases once you have filed for a restraining order. Hearings usually are held within a few weeks of the form being filed.
- Moving on
Sometimes filing for a divorce can help you and your spouse move on from your relationship and continue forward in your lives. It can relate a more clean or full break between the two of you because in California, the assets have to be split up.
Even if you are both living separately, it can be nice to have it done and over with. Plus, if you want to marry someone again later down the line, you will need to divorce your spouse before you are able to.
“Farbod Majd Esq.
Divorce Attorney w/ offices in Beverly Hills/Los Angeles
Services in English, Turkish, and Farsi/Persian (Iranian/American Lawyer)
8383 Wilshire Blvd Suite 646, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310.956.4600 | Fax: 310.878.8989 | [email protected]”