- There are no residency requirements to obtain a legal separation in Oregon.oregon image by Dawngo from Fotolia.com
In a legal separation, a married couple who no longer wishes to live together asks for a court order that separates the couple's finances, divides the marital property, and determines custody of the children. Neither spouse is free to remarry after a legal separation, and spouses who are legally separated maintain their right to inherit from each other. Couples who ask for a legal separation, instead of a divorce, typically do so for religious reasons or because one spouse needs to stay on the other's medical insurance. In Oregon, a couple who does not yet meet the state's residency requirements for divorce, but needs to settle financial and child custody matters, can file for legal separation instead. - To file for legal separation in Oregon, one spouse must be a resident of the state. However, the spouse does not need to be a resident of the state for any particular length of time. If a spouse later decides that he or she wants a divorce, one spouse will need to be a resident of Oregon for six months prior to filing for divorce.
- In Oregon, the grounds for both divorce and legal separation are "irreconcilable differences." A couple can ask for a legal separation if differences between them have led to a breakdown of the marriage. The couple can ask the judge for a separation that lasts for a year or more, or they can agree on a permanent separation if divorce is not an option for financial, social, or religious reasons.
- Spouses are always at liberty to file for divorce after a legal separation. Judges are usually inclined to stick with the terms of the separation agreement if a couple eventually divorces. For this reason, it is important that both spouses are satisfied with the financial and custody settlement ordered in a legal separation.
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