Many couples experience a prelude to divorce long before they receive their final decree. The prelude period serves to prepare both parties for a life apart from each other and also allows them to separate the property that they have acquired during their marriage. Some of the reasons for the divorce to occur in the first place might be enough reason for many people to welcome the prelude to divorce.

Some laws require a prelude of up to a year before divorce papers can be filed. This prelude period is generally termed a legal separation and is usually required when there are children born from the marriage. The divorcing parties will use the prelude period to determine where the children will live and what the expected payments will be for the support of all children born of the marriage.

The prelude to divorce serves to offer protection to the children born in a marriage. Some marriages are very volatile and can lead to domestic violence during the various stages that the couples go through in realizing that their relationship is over. Some of the violence stems from jealously and other violence occurs because of the helpless feelings that divorce papers will bring out in an individual.

The children suffer just as much as the adults during the prelude to divorce. Many children will need to undergo many months of counseling just to understand why their parents are no longer going to be married to each other. The prelude to divorce period can serve as a period for healing for children that have been directly affected by physical contact from a parent in a volatile marriage.

The courts system requires this prelude to divorce to provide couples with the opportunity to look at their life before and during marriage and realize that the divorce they are asking for will definitely be a finality that neither will enjoy. The prelude for divorce will help one of the people find a new residence and get used to living the single life once more.

During the prelude to divorce, many couples realize their faults and are able to see their life more clearly. They have had time to reflect on the good qualities of their marriage and the prelude to divorce period will allow them to recognize each transgression that occurred in their marriage. For some couples the review will provide proof that there is no hope for the marriage and one or both of the parties involved in the divorce will look forward to the day that the divorce is final.

There are many occasions where the prelude to divorce turns the tables on divorce proceeding, and the couple will reconcile their differences and make agreements to each other to work on the problems of their marriage, and to see a marriage counselor if necessary. The prelude to divorce will be so difficult that they can not imagine living life without the other and they will reaffirm the love that they have for each other and start their marriage with a new perspective on life.