Legal Separation or Divorce: Which is Better Financially?
Photograph: iStock  Legal separation may be a good financial
option for you if you need to:    • meet the 10-year requirement
for social security benefits. If a marriage has lasted at least
10 years, a divorced spouse who has not remarried is entitled at
age 62 (with various other requirements) to social security
benefits equal to the greater of: 1) those based on her
(assuming she is the lesser earning person) own work record or
2) 50 percent of what her ex-husband is entitled to based upon
his work record. Because of this law, many people who have been
married for seven or eight years will separate until they cross
the 10-year threshold – then, they get divorced. (Please note:
The amount of your social security benefits will be reduced if
you opt to take them prior to your normal retirement date. So,
although you may be eligible to start receiving benefits at age
62, depending on your circumstances, you may want to delay doing
so until your normal r