Divorce From Bed And Board Hot Tips (Part 1)

The following are the first 5 of my 20 major Hot Tips to keep in mind when considering advising your client to enter into a Divorce from Bed & Board (“DBB”):

1. A DBB may be entered based upon the same causes of action as a regular divorce.
2. Both parties must join in the request for the entry of a DBB.
3. After the entry of a DBB, neither party is prejudiced in any way from thereafter applying to the Court for a conversion of the DBB to a full divorce (i.e., a divorce from the bonds of matrimony), which application shall be granted as a matter of right.
4. The primary purpose of a DBB is to nullify the marital obligation of cohabitation.
5. Case Law, but not the applicable statute, refers to a DBB as a “judicial separation.”