To convert a legal separation to divorce, you need to consult a divorce lawyer to learn the proper procedure. Queens divorce lawyers have taken the toughest divorce situations. They have negotiated the crudest points and settled arguments, saving everyone’s time and money.
Before proceeding to converting a legal separation to divorce, you must understand the term conversion divorce. It is the act of initiating a divorce because couples have executed a suitable legal separation deed at least one year before the instigation of the divorce act.
According to Barton R. Resnicoff, the protocol to convert a legal separation to divorce as stated by divorce attorneys in Queens is as follows:
- The first step is to contact your spouse for mutual agreement of converting legal separation to a divorce. If your spouse agrees, your divorce will most likely be granted.
- The second step is to request the court to convert your case into a divorce by applying for a shift in writing. File it in the court and obtain the date and time for a hearing on the conversion. Issue a copy of the same to your spouse attested by your divorce attorney. The document would be called as “Amended Petition for Divorce.”
- At the time of the hearing, make sure your attorney specifies the reasons for wanting a divorce. The case converts to a divorce if the judge obliges to your attorney’s request. Otherwise, you’ll have to file a new case.
- You must live apart for one year or more in agreement with an appropriately acknowledged separation agreement.
- You must prove that you have fulfilled the criteria for a legal separation agreement.
Conversion divorce may be nullified due to the following:
- Any violations of obligatory duties of the agreement like alimony, maintenance and child support payments.
- A separation agreement won’t be converted to divorce if you or your spouse got the other to sign it by fraud or threat. If one of the spouses was legally incompetent of entering into a contract due to lunacy or incapability, the court will also reject the request.