Wisconsin offers two legal options to end your relationship with your spouse: legal separation or divorce. Both methods provide a legal means to deal with custody, the financial relationship between the parties, and child support. However, couples who choose to go through a legal separation remain married. There are some important differences between legal separation and divorce. An experienced Wisconsin divorce lawyer can help you decide the better route to take as you decide whether to make the difficult decision to end your relationship.

What is Legal Separation?

Legal separation is a specific legal process that is different from divorce. Being legally separated is not the same as simply living apart. Although legally separated spouses will go through a legal process, they will not be divorced. In both cases, a family court will decide about property, income, child custody, and other issues by applying the same legal standards.