Whats the difference between a divorce, legal separation and annulment?
A divorce (also called dissolution of marriage or dissolution of domestic partnership) ends your marriage or domestic partnership. After you get divorced, you will be single, and you can marry or become a domestic partner again. If you get divorced, you can ask the judge for orders like child support, spousal support, partner support, custody and visitation, domestic violence restraining orders, division of property, and other orders. For married persons to get a divorce, you MUST meet California’s residency requirement. A legal separation does not end a marriage or domestic partnership. You can’t marry or enter into a partnership with someone else if you are legally separated (and not divorced). A legal separation is for couples that do not want to get divorced, but want to live apart and have court orders made on financial, property, and parenting issues. Couples sometimes prefer legal separation for religious reasons. In a legal separation case, you can ask the judge for orders like
