If You are Legally Separated, Can You Get Remarried?

Legal separation does not affect legal marriages in Florida.

No. In Florida and five other states, non-divorce separation is completely informal and is essentially a trial divorce. Informal agreements, which in this case are separation agreements, do not affect legal agreements, which in this case are marriages. Even if the spouses are not living together and express a joint desire to terminate the marriage, those bonds remain until a judge cuts them.

Although separation agreements are informal and nonbinding in Florida, they are usually part of the divorce process. Frequently, about six weeks after the petitioner (filing party) submits legal paperwork, the judge sets ground rules for the remainder of the divorce. A Sarasota family law attorney must assertively represent both parties at this hearing. Otherwise, the judge will issue one-sided orders that often cripple the legal and financial rights of one party.

Divorce Temporary Orders

These orders usually include temporary child support, spousal support, and parenting time provisions. Technically, these orders expire when judges sign final orders. Usually, however, temporary orders are the blueprint for the final orders.

Family stability is paramount for many Sarasota County family law judges. So, if the temporary orders create a workable situation, even if that situation has some problems, many judges are hesitant to upset it.

Furthermore, the same judge who issued the temporary orders issues the final orders, at least in most cases. So, changing the temporary orders is tantamount to admitting that the temporary orders were improperly made. No one likes to admit mistakes in this way.

Nevertheless, if the temporary orders are adverse, all is not lost. A Sarasota family law attorney can still modify or even reverse unfavorable financial or emotional orders.

The financial orders usually include temporary spousal support and temporary child support. These orders are based on the financial information, usually W-2s and 1099s, available at the time. If other evidence surfaces later, such as money in an LLC, the judge usually modifies these orders accordingly.

Incidentally, temporary orders do not divide marital property. However, these orders usually include property-and-parties restraining orders which sharply limit a spouse’s ability to spend cash from a joint account or otherwise expend marital assets.

Emotional temporary orders usually include parenting time and child custody orders. If a social worker’s investigation, which is mandatory in most contested cases, reaches a different conclusion (e.g., Dad should be the residential parent instead of Mom), the judge usually follows the social worker’s recommendation.

Standalone Separation Agreements

These agreements are extremely rare in Florida. Informal side agreements, even written ones, are unenforceable in Florida family courts. However, they are an option in some cases. For example, if Ozzy and Harriet do not want to get divorced for religious reasons but they do not want to live together, an informal separation agreement may be a good idea.

As mentioned, neither Ozzy nor Harriet can remarry. However, an informal separation agreement can include all the same orders as temporary and final divorce decrees. Although these provisions are unenforceable in court, when people give their word in writing, they are more likely to stick with the promises they make.

Informal separation agreements, like temporary and final divorce decrees, can be modified if relevant circumstances materially and substantially change.

Connect With a Diligent Sarasota County Attorney

In Florida, only a divorce severs the legal bonds of matrimony. For a confidential consultation with an experienced family law attorney in Sarasota, contact Carman & Finegan, P.A. We routinely handle matters throughout the Sunshine State.