THE JOHNSON LAW OFFICES, LLC

if you do not have a ground for divorce you can petition the court for an order allowing you and your spouse to live separately. in an action for a legal separation the court can consider issues such as alimony, child custody, child suppport and division of martial property and debt. these issues can be very confusion but generally the following apply:

1. Alimony - either party may be entitled to monetary support from the other. alimony can be paid in a lump sum or in installments. the court will look at a number of factors to determine if a party is entitled to alimony. these include, but are certainly not limited to, the length of the marriage, the financial contributions of the parties, the earning potential of the parties, the health and age of the parties and who caused the break up of the marriage.

2. custody and visitation - neither party automatically has a right to custody of the children. the court can order custody to one party, joint custody or shared custody. in making this decision the judge will determine what is in the best interest of the child. in contested cases the judge will appoint a guardian ad litem to protect the interest of the child.

3. child support - all parents have a legal duty to provide for their children. in most cases the non-custodial parent is required to pay child support to the custodial parent. in south carolina the court uses the department of social services guidelines to dtermine the amount of support to be paid.

4. division of marital property - ordinarily marital property includes all assets and debts that were acquired during the marriage. exceptions to this include inherited property and gifts from outside of the marriage.