My husband is filing for a Legal separation in CA. I was wondering once I receive that judgement will either of us be able to date someone else? Or do I need a divorce if I chose to move on and date someone? I am not looking to date at this moment just wondering what my rights are. We are trying to do this in a friendly manner for our kids while protecting ourselves financially from here on out.
If I file for legal separation now and then decide to file for divorce in Jan, will the waiting period still be 6 months?

I would appreciate any feedback on this!

You will be able to date but you will not be able to get married (not that you are trying to). I'm not sure about CA waiting period but if it is six months then that's what it is but they may count the separation period toward the six months. It usually also depends on how backlogged the court is as to it being longer than that.

Yes California legal separation lasts 6 months then you may apply for a divorce. In my opinion since children are involved you should wait on dating until its all over with and you know exactly where you stand. That way animosity can be kept to a minimum. Also if you have a program called " kid's turn " in or near your court system I suggest you both take advantage of it. You will also be asked for mandatory mediation when it comes to figuring time with the kids.

http://www.kidsturn.org/pages/page.php?pageid=52

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Originally Posted by califdadof3

Yes California legal seperation lasts 6 months then you may apply for a divorce. IMHO since children are involved you should wait on dating until its all over with and you know exactly where you stand. That way animosity can be kept to a minimum. Also if you have a program called " kid's turn " in or near your court system I suggest you both take advantage of it. You will also be asked for mandatory mediation when it comes to figuring time with the kids.

KIDS' TURN www.kidsturn.org

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My children are much older 17.5 yrs and 15.5 yrs
I am not interested in dating at this moment was just curious. I have heard a lot of conflicting info on this subject. Thanks for the feedback and the link above. I plan to look into it.

Well being married does not seem to stop people from dating so there is no reason you can't except for the fact morally you are still married.