California Domestic Partnership Attorneys

Legal Separation of Domestic Partners

If you are in a domestic partnership and are contemplating a legal separation, you should speak with a same sex advocacy lawyer at Claery & Green.  As a family law firm, our attorneys have experience handling a wide range of legal matters, including those specifically affecting gay and lesbian couples.  A skilled attorney from our firm will know exactly how to handle your situation if it entails legal separation and they can provide you with the guidance you will need during this time.  The process of acquiring a legal separation can be complex, especially in situations involving children and shared property & assets, so it will be very helpful to both you and your domestic partner to consult a lawyer before beginning this process.

In order for domestic partners to become legally separated, a Petition for Legal Separation of Domestic Partners must be filed.  This petition is a formal request by one partner to the Superior Court for the Court to divide the community property and debts between the partners and to make orders regarding child custody (in situations where the couple has children) and financial support without actually terminating the partnership.  This petition is very similar to the one that is filed for married people wishing to legally separate.

Unlike dissolution of domestic partnership, a legal separation of domestic partners does not terminate the domestic partnership and it does not restore the partners to the status of un-partnered persons. Until the domestic partnership is actually terminated, and you are restored to the status of an un-partnered person, you will not be allowed to enter into another domestic partnership. In a legal separation, the Court will financially separate you and your domestic partner, and it will also decide the custody of any minor children of your domestic partnership, how your possessions and obligations will be divided and if any support will be paid from one partner to the other in the same way as a dissolution.

If you would like to learn more about legal separation of domestic partners, contact a California domestic partnership Lawyer at Claery & Green!