Portland Family Law Lawyer: Converting Separation to Dissolution of Marriage

A legal Separation starts with the assumption that the parties to the Separation have a valid marriage. Whereas a party first needs to live in Oregon for at least six months prior to filing for a dissolution of marriage, a legal separation has no such requirement. Rather, if there is a need for a support or custody order, but neither party has lived in Oregon for at least six months to establish residency for dissolution purposes, a legal separation is a tool to help protect the parties’ interest.  After filing the legal separation and each party has lived in Oregon for at least six months, the petition can be amended by filing a motion to convert the separation into a dissolution of marriage.

If the parties do not convert the separation into a dissolution, the court may convert a judgment of separation into a judgment of dissolution within two years of entry of a judgment in the separation matter pursuant to ORS 107.465. Either party may file the motion to convert the separation to dissolution. However, the documents will need to be served on the other party before the court will hear the matter.

When converting a separation into a dissolution after a judgment was entered in the original separation case, the court cannot set aside, alter, or modify any part of the judgment of separation. If the parties want to change items within the initial separation, they will need to file a dissolution of marriage. Ultimately, it can be a complicated task to convert a separation to a dissolution of marriage. Before deciding a path to go down, it is important to understand the both the financial and legal costs associated with each step beforehand.