Last Updated on April 2024
Getting a legal separation is already a difficult process that takes a lot of time and emotional efforts. Dating someone new while your divorce case is ongoing in New York can make this process even more complicated.
There are some important things that you need to think about before you’ll decide to date someone while legally separated in New York State, for example – your friends and family members may disapprove the idea of seeing someone new. You will also need to consider how it could affect your children and whether it may lead to them being bullied at school for not having two parents at home anymore…or create even bigger issues.
Can You and Should You Date During Your Legal Separation in New York?
In New York, you can date while getting a legal separation . But dating during a legal separation process can make things more difficult and cause problems. Here’s a just a few of potential issues that may occur:
- It can hurt the feelings of you and your ex-spouse.
- Dating during legal separation may affect decisions about child custody, spousal support, and dividing property/assets.
- Fact that you dated could be used as proof of cheating, which can impact court decisions.
- It may emotionally impact you, your ex-spouse, and any children involved.
- It may create new disputes or make existing ones worse, dragging out the divorce process.
Impact on the Divorce Process
Dating while getting a legal separation can also impact the legal process in several ways:
- It may make the process take longer by creating new arguments or making things more complicated.
- Dating during legal separation can lead to more fights with your ex-spouse.
- If your ex-spouse claims your dating showed you were unfaithful in the marriage, it could hurt your chances of getting:
- Custody of children
- Spousal support payments
- A fair share of divided assets
- The emotional stress of dating can make negotiations harder.
- It can increase conflicts between you and your ex-spouse.
Impact on Time-Sharing Plans
Dating while going through a legal separation can affect the plans for how time with the children is divided up between the parents. It may raise questions about whether new dating relationships are stable and appropriate environments for the children. As we know, the court always make decisions about child custody and visitation based on what is best for the child. If a parent’s new dating situation seems unstable or causes a lot of conflict with the other parent, it can impact on how the court decides to split up the time with the kids. If the dating leads to arguments between the parents, it can also make it harder to actually follow through with the visitation schedule.
Impact on Property Division
Dating while going through a legal separation can make it more complicated to determine which assets and debts belong to the original marriage versus which ones involve the new relationship. If dating leads to financially merging with a new partner by sharing money, housing, etc., it can affect how property gets divided between the original spouses. Courts will closely look at any financial transactions or new acquisitions during the dating period to ensure a fair split of marital property. Additionally, dating can shape how each spouse is perceived in terms of their financial needs and contributions to the marriage, which plays a role in how assets and debts get divided up.
Impact on Decision Making Ability
Dating someone new while still going through a legal separation can make it harder to make good and right decisions about the future divorce issues. The emotions that you feel and constant distractions from a new relationships can affect your judgment and opinions. Feelings for the new person can get in the way of your negotiations about child custody, alimony payments, and dividing money and property. These intense emotions may lead to making rushed or bad decisions that don’t match your long-term goals.
Dating During a Legal Separation Can Be Tricky
Dating during a legal separation can be tricky because you are still officially married on a papers. If the new relationship doesn’t work out, you may end up in even more complicated situation than before. You are still legally responsible for each other’s debts and obligations during the separation, and you cannot get married to someone else yet.
If you have children, you might need to try to make arrangements for child custody and visitation. These kind of arrangements can be temporary or permanent, depending on what you both agree to with your spouse.
When you decide to date during your legal separation in New York State, you are taking a big risk. If the new relationship fails, you could find yourself in an even more complex situation since your marriage isn’t officially over yet and you can’t remarry someone new.
Conclusion
When dating during a legal separation, be fully aware there could be consequences if it doesn’t work out. Understanding the potential issues can help you better prepare for those possibilities and future outcome, as well as the chance of getting a divorce later on.
Rafael Hebert is an experienced writer specializing in such topics as infidelity in marriage and divorce. His works can be seen on popular blogs like Marriage.com and Divorce Magazine. Having background in relationship counseling, Rafael is dedicated to helping individuals with emotional issues surrounding infidelity and educating them on their divorce options. In his free time, Rafael enjoys watching documentaries and visiting film festivals in different states.
