What is a Legal Separation?
Legal separation involves a process much like divorce, except that instead of being physically separated and legally divorced, the parties are in a state or condition that is created by law that allows them to be physically separate or living under separate roofs, but they are still technically legally married. By entering into a legal separation agreement, the parties agree to all issues related to the dissolution of their marriage, but the point about which they agree is that they want to continue to be married notwithstanding that they are living separately and apart. Legal separations in the past have served as an opportunity to work out differences and oftentimes have led to a reconciliation of the marriage. However, that is not always the case.
In fact, many people who enter into a legal separation live with a stable and complete understanding that a divorce is a much more likely ultimately outcome than the reconciliation of the marriage. Parties who enter into a legal separation do so for various reasons. These reasons include a desire by one or both parties to remain legally married for health care or other economic reasons, a desire to obtain temporary relief to address the needs of the parties or the children, or a religious objection to the ultimate dissolution of the marriage. A legal separation, because it is handled in essence like a divorce, is filed at the family court and follows the same process as an action for divorce. The most significant difference, however, is that a divorce terminates the marriage, while a legal separation does not. A divorce will ultimately lead to a final order entered by the court that dissolves the marriage, while a legal separation leads to a final order by the court establishing a legal separation between the parties . A legal separation agreement may be prepared and agreed upon by both parties, which could be enforced by the court if consented to by both parties or could be made a court order if requested by one party or both parties.
Legal separation ultimately leads to a decree of legal separation or a court order establishing that the parties are legally separated and have been living separate and apart. Political, social, and legal implications all still exist to the extent that the parties are still legally married someday, evidenced by the fact that a bureaucratic divorce process will ultimately need to be initiated by one or the other or both parties within the family court. The obligation upon the parties to formally dissolve the legal marriage will exist indefinitely in the future as long as one or both parties choose to do so, and it is also important to note that a legal separation deems that the parties are separated under the law, which means that assets and debts acquired after legal separation may be characterized as community property or community debt. On the other hand, which has not been left unsaid, the parties in a legal separation must also try to resolve all the same issues that would be contemplated in a divorce, which would include issues related to custody, support of children, what assets the parties own, what debts the parties have, and how those assets and debts have been accrued during the period of their legal marriage. Legal separation, notwithstanding its somewhat romantic and esoteric sounding concept, is this author’s experience with legal separation – a lot of work and a lot of time in order to achieve a document or a court order deeming the parties legally separated.
The Cost of Filing and Court Fees
Filing Fees and Court Costs – The basic filing fee for an action for legal separation in Nevada is $245.00, and that filing fee will be assessed regardless of whether the case goes to a contested hearing or trial or remains an uncontested matter.
As with any judicial filing, there may be other costs associated with the legal proceeding in addition to any filing fees.
One cost that is particularly relevant in the family law context is mediation. In family law matters where parties have children, as soon as a divorce case is filed, the parties are required to attend Family Court Services orientation. Family Court Services orientation is compulsory for all parties with minor children in family court matters, and usually costs about $30.00 per session.
The next step in the process is to attend a mediation session at Family Court Services. Once again, this mediation session is compulsory and costs around $100.00 per person, or $200.00 total. This mediation session, like the Family Court Services orientation session, is compulsory and cannot be avoided even if the parties to an action for legal separation are in complete agreement regarding all issues in the case.
In addition to the costs associated with the court filing fee and compulsory Family Court Services mediation, there are fees and dues for the Nevada State Bar Association and Clark County Family Law Section Bar Association.
Lawyer Fees & Representation
Attorneys’ fees vary depending on the difficulty of your Nevada legal separation, the time your divorce case takes to settle or go to a Judge for a ruling and the complexity of your legal separation. Your costs will also depend on how experienced your family lawyer is and to a lesser extent, where you reside in relation to the bulk of the firm’s offices, if there are any. Generally speaking, if your legal separation requires less than fifteen hours of time for the least-experienced attorney in a firm, it will be billed at a lower hourly rate than if your divorce case takes 80 hours of time for the most experienced attorney in the firm. The spread is generally at least $100 per hour. Also, if there are multiple attorneys involved in a case, the less-experienced attorneys do more of the basic research and writing and handle most of the routine matters; whereas the more experience attorneys oversee them and review the work involved (often after they have been brought up to speed afterward) and focus on the more complex issues involved. In large firms, for example, if you hired our LV divorce law office, your divorce case would be handled primarily by our associates. As an example, you should not expect a partner to sit down with you and do routine writing or discovery/court filing work. This work, done by associates, is charged at a lower hourly rate.
Other Expenses you May Face
Once you start a legal separation process in the State of Nevada, you may incur several other costs related to the process. These may include mediation services, property appraisers services as well as any document preparation services. Mediators offer the parties to a case the opportunity to settle their differences out of court. A mediator is not the same as a judge. Instead, he or she is a neutral third party that will help both you and your spouse work out the details of your separation agreement. When you choose to undergo a trial-style divorce, you will be expected to pay for the services of everyone involved in the case. In a mediated situation, you can expect to share the cost of the mediator, which saves money in the long run. Mediation has a high success rate .
Property appraisal services are often required at the start of the separation process. Both spouses need to know the true value of the shared property before moving forward with the separation, and usually they each hire separate appraisers. This means double the expense and potential delays in settling the separation.
If you choose to hire a document preparation service to handle your paperwork, you can expect to pay somewhere between $99 and $300 for the services. This is a great alternative to hiring a divorce attorney to handle the process, if both you and your spouse agree. Compare the cost of the document preparation service to that of an attorney and see what you can afford and which process will best serve you and your spouse.
Separation Vs. Divorce Costs
In some cases, pursuing a divorce may be more expensive than engaging in a legal separation. For example, if you and your spouse still share certain assets and income streams, it may be less costly to legally separate from rather than divorce the other person. A legal separation proceeding could be completed relatively quickly, without the need for contentious disputes over the finer details of property division and custody, making it much less expensive to navigate. If you and your spouse do not plan to divorce, pursuing legal separation may also be preferable financially. If you simply need to have your responsibilities regarding child support, alimony, and child custody outlined in a legal document, a legal separation proceeding may be perfect for your situation. These proceedings are generally less expensive than divorce and can be finalized relatively quickly. That said, if you think you may eventually pursue a divorce, it is prudent to consider pursuing this step so that your assets and debts are divided according to Nevada asset distribution laws prior to death or divorce.
Ways to Cut Back Costs
You can save on your costs considerably if your spouse or partner is cooperative and you can agree on the important issues. If you have an uncontested legal separation, that means you will only have to file a "joint petition for marriage/legal separation" (which will be the same as a divorce petition except for the caption) together in the Family Court. You both will have to sign all the papers, have them notarized, and then file them with the Court and serve one another with copies. If you have a simple marital estate and no minor children, you may not have to go to court at all and probably won’t need a lawyer unless you would like one to review the settlement paperwork you and your spouse/partner have prepared.
If you or your partner/ spouse cannot reach a final agreement , you may want to consider pursuing the separation through mediation or collaborative law. (See my earlier blog posts on using Collaborative Law to resolve your Separation Agreement or Divorce.) The costs for these options can be reduced if you each agree to use the same neutral Collaborative lawyer or mediator and share the fees. This will not work if you are in conflict over the terms of the legal separation and need an advocate to negotiate on your behalf. Otherwise, both of these processes can be cost-effective alternatives to litigation.
Ultimately, if you are involved in a contested case or need to have a hearing before a judge, your costs will be higher. I cannot stress enough the importance of trying to be as cooperative as possible with your spouse/partner. Done cooperatively, it is possible to get a legal separation for as little as $1,500. A contested legal separation, however, can be much more expensive and can even be as costly as a divorce!