If My Spouse and I are Legally Separated and Ready for Divorce, What is the Next Step?

“Legally separated” can be a misnomer; in many cases, a legal separation and a divorce are the same process. Many people mistakenly call a signed Separation Agreement a “legal separation”, which is not entirely accurate.

If you and your spouse can agree to all of the terms of a Divorce and have no children from the marriage, the Separation Agreement and Divorce filing can be created simply and inexpensively using Standard Legal’s No-Fault Divorce legal forms software. But this option from Standard Legal is only for couples without minor-age children.

If you do not feel you will be able to agree to the terms of a Divorce, you will not be able to file for “No Fault” divorce, nor will you be able to use Standard Legal’s offering (or any other legal forms company’s product). You will have to go through the courts. If you know you will not be able to agree to all of the terms of a divorce with your spouse, we suggest you immediately find a qualified attorney to help you (you can find one for FREE at our Attorney Find page).

If you are able to agree to all the terms of the divorce with your spouse but have young children from your marriage, you can review legal forms software options from other qualified companies at The American Legal Review’s divorce page. Standard Legal holds the opinion that custody and child support issues are complex and that an attorney should be consulted in a divorce with children. But a pro se ‘do-it-yourself’ No Fault Divorce filing is still possible even with children in a marriage, so we present this option for your review.