The Law of Marriage and Divorce

by Christine Layug

Marriage is a personal union between individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is called a wedding and the status created is sometimes called wedlock. The act of marriage changes the personal status of the individuals in the eyes of the law and society.

There are currently two ways of ending a marriage. In most societies, the death of one of the partners terminates the marriage, and in monogamous societies this allows the other partner to remarry. The second method of ending a marriage is through legal separation. Many societies today provide the termination of marriage through use of the divorce law. Marriages can also be annulled in some societies, where an authority declares that a marriage never happened.

Visit the North Carolina family lawyer to know more about this. Legal separation, or sometimes called "separate maintenance," "divorce a mensa et thoro," or "divorce from bed-and-board", is a possible step towards divorce under the laws of many countries. A couple is legally separated only if the couple has successfully petitioned a court to recognize their separation; simply living apart does not constitute separation for these purposes.

Visit the North Carolina family lawyer about this. Now legal separation does not automatically lead to divorce. Reconciliation can happen within the legal separation period, in which case they need do nothing in order to remain married. However, if they do not reconcile, and wish to divorce after the statutory time period, they must file for divorce explicitly. A period of legal separation may constitute grounds for divorce and some countries require some period of legal separation before a divorce can take effect such as in Spain, Ireland, and Italy.

Some states within the United States require separation before divorce. The required period of separation before filing for divorce varies. Visit the North Carolina family lawyer for more information.


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