H has moved out (per my request).<P>I feel the need to do something "legal" just to protect myself. I have no idea what to do.<P>What is a legal separation?<P>Are there any advatages ? Disadvantages ?<P>I'm in Massachusetts..Do different States have different procedures ?<P>Any input would be helpful.<P>FYI....I am dealing with an H with a family that wants to prove I am unstable, etc. & want to take my kids. I"m 100% stable, just in "shock" about my H's A's. The in-laws have alot of $$.

Hi Louser. A legal seperation is has all the legal aspects of a divorce, only the couple is still legally married. So, if in the future either one of you wishes to remarry, then you would need to get a divorce.<P>A seperation allows you to set boundaries with the kids, such as how much child support and what visitation times, and it also takes care of any finances you both share jointly. You can also have a clause put in there about no overnight people of the opposite sex staying at H's place when the kids are there...<P>Talk to a lawyer. The first visit is free (1st 1/2 hour), at least for all the lawyers I researched in MA. I went to one and never went back after my first visit. I then went to one up in NH and filed for seperation, but then stopped it before it become official.<P>Good luck. At the least you should become educated about your different options. Plan B with rules/boundaries can be an alternative to filing for seperation (but then you and your H have to come to an agreement on your own about such things as the kids, otherwise you need to take legal action). <P>Or you can just file for seperation because you feel you need it to feel secure and still be in plan A, although most times this is taken as an LB, unless you approach it the right way and your H also wants it.<P>A seperation costs just about as much as a divorce from what I hear.<P>HbH

Louser, <BR>I just talked to a lawyer about this yesterday to inform myself and also because I was thinking of filing for divorce in January. <P>From what he told me, a legal separation is a court sanctioned "limited" divorce. Custody, visitation, child support, basically all aspects that are dealt with in a divorce are handled in a separation as well. In the event of a divorce, everything settled in the separation carries over unless re-negotiated. <P>In my case, my main concern was my children. I wanted to know what, if anything, I could do legally to keep OW away from them. Lawyer said that unless she is abusive or there is something in her background like drug abuse, basically nothing. Several counselor's said that it would be traumatic for my children to be exposed to her and the relationship that she and H have. That, unfortunately, has no bearing in court, according to this lawyer. If I file for either, H will automatically get weekly visitation plus every other weekend. H lives with OW. There is no way I will allow my children to be in that home.<P>Needless to say, I won't be filing for either separation or divorce any time soon because of that. As things are right now, I've told H that he is welcome to come see the kids as often as he wants but I insist that he can never take them anywhere because I don't trust him to keep her out of their lives. He's already once taken them around her once but fortunately they didn't know at the time who exactly she was. Anyway, he accepts this stipulation but I feel it's mostly guilt and because he doesn't have much time for them right now anyway. <P>I hope this helps some although I'm in MD not Mass.<P>MS