Legal Alternatives to Divorce
- A judicial separation, also referred to as legal separation, provides a formal acknowledgment that the estranged spouses are living apart. Although it does not end the marriage, it is an option for those who are not yet considering a divorce. However, this alternative can actually lead to a divorce, especially in cases when one party wants a divorce, while the other doesn't. This kind of separation works as a legal remedy for anyone who is morally or religiously against a divorce, but has already exhausted all efforts in making a marriage work. Judicial separation also allows all concerns about finances and children to be formally agreed upon by the separating spouses.
- An annulment means that the court declares the supposed marriage null and void and that it has never existed under the law. It is the court's way of saying that the said marriage never occurred because the marriage ceremony was invalid at the time of inception. To qualify for annulment, the couple's grounds for it must fall under specific categories as stipulated by law, which slightly varies from state to state. The general grounds for annulment include underage marriage, fraud, bigamy or polygamy, close blood relationships, mental incompetence, inability to consummate the marriage, marriage under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or any form of fraud or duress.
- An alternative dispute resolution allows the separating spouses to contact a neutral third party to help them negotiate a settlement. This saves them time and money in the divorce process. The two parties meet with their attorneys for the opportunity to settle their marriage issues in a less adversarial and more casual way compared with a traditional court setting.
Some states may actually require divorcing couples to attempt some form of ADR before going to family court. There are also cases where a more structured form of ADR in the form of arbitration is done through a neutral third party who makes decisions upon hearing both sides' statements and arguments. Although an arbitrator's decision is not necessarily final, the points considered in it can possibly be used in any legal action the couple may take in the future. - An order of protection is another way to be legally separated from an estranged spouse. This is an effective and cost-free way to keep an abusive partner from physically, verbally, or emotionally harming the other party.The party seeking the order must seek the approval of a judge in a civil proceeding. As a petitioner, he must provide enough grounds stating that there was an attempt or threat to cause abuse or harm by the other party. Such protective order can also be used while there is already an ongoing divorce case.