Firstly it might matter from the point of view of dividing assets. For example you might think you separated on the first of June this year and your spouse thinks it was really at the beginning of the year. If you bought (together or separately) a house (or some other major item of worth) between January and June the date of legally separating might be relevant. In Australia a court looks at the entire asset pool (even if items of property have been purchased after separation in people's sole name) and then works out the contribution to each asset. This might make the date of legal separation something you need to consider.
Another example might be where a party inherits some money and there is an argument about the date you legally separated from your partner.
If you have been married the date of legal separation becomes important for an application for divorce. Again looking at the Australian perspective, to be able to apply for a divorce you need to have been legally separated for 12 months.
What then is a legal separation?
Good question. Legal separation is simply that date when the two of you stopped living as husband and wife (or as de-facto partners). It sounds a simply definition, and that in itself is the problem. Sometimes one spouse simply cannot or will not accept the relationship is over and that is when the question of legal separation becomes an important one.
If you are about to leave or have left and are not sure your spouse has understood or accepted your decision and you want to make sure your date of legal separation is accepted down the track it is best to write to your ex spouse/partner and spell it out (with some tact if possible).
In our next post we will look at separation agreements.
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