In many cases, spouses file for legal separation in order to give themselves some breathing room from a marriage that is no longer functioning properly, but still hope to try and save the relationship. Sometimes, however, legal separation simply doesn’t result in the hoped-for reconciliation. At that point, many Maryland couples go from legal separation to filing for an actual divorce. It can be a difficult choice, but in some situations it is the right one to make.
Actor Dennis Quaid has apparently made that decision in his own case of legal separation. His wife of eight years, Kimberly Buffington-Quaid, first filed for divorce back in March, but then put the divorce on hold and sought to work things out with her husband. She then sought to potentially gear up divorce proceedings again by filing for legal separation in October.
Dennis Quaid, on the other hand, filed a divorce petition of his own in late November. In his petition, he is seeking joint physical and legal custody of the couple’s twin children, a boy and girl. He offers to pay for spousal support in his divorce request. If this divorce does go through and become finalized at a future date, it would make the third for the celebrity.
Fame can make an already difficult time of legal separation even tougher on celebrities like Dennis Quaid and his wife. Even for the average Maryland couple, working on marital differences just doesn’t always turn out the way that spouses hope. In such cases, it can be the right decision to turn a legal separation into a divorce filing. Every couple has to make that decision for themselves, but trying to work things out first at least provides the peace of mind that both spouses truly did try everything before deciding to end their marriages.
Source: People Magazine, ” Dennis Quaid Files for Divorce, Seeks Joint Custody,” Mike Fleeman, Nov. 30, 2012