Thursday, April 16, 2020

Personal Capital vs Fidelit


Investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other assets provide investors an opportunity to tap into the financial market and reap the benefits. Many brokerage services have been launched to help investors maneuver the confusing and tricky financial market and trading. Better still, brokers have invested in technology and research in order to help their investors make informed decisions before they trade and invest in various assets.


Here we look at Personal Capital vs Fidelity to see what they have in store for the investors which one can work best for you.

Personal Capital provides access to financial advisors for the exchange of a management fee of 0.98 percent and above, and investment balance starts from $100,000.

While the fee that Personal Capital charges may be high, there are robust free tools to use.

Clients can access a team of advisors that help them with making wise decisions in their investment. Those who have $200,000 and above can get at least two dedicated advisors.

The fee depends on the balance you have, for instance, first 1million attracts a 0.89 percent fee while the balance of up to 3 million attracts a fee of 0.79 percent.

Fidelity is a well-known, well-rounded investment brokerage company that serves individual investors.

The company offers different tools, research, and resources to help the average Joe investor to make strategic decisions when investing. Fidelity offers a $0 commission for trades to the investors.

There are more than 3,700 mutual funds carrying a non-transaction fee. In addition, there are those investments that carry transaction fees. The brokerage is one of the companies that have high-class research tools to help the average, buy-and-hold investors.

Fidelity has a track record for managing investment with years of experience in the industry. It also has a platform that is easy to use and can be customized to help advanced investors make the most of their investment strategies.


Summary
·         Access to financial management tools with Personal Capital
·         Access financial advisors with Personal Capital
·         Higher that starts from $0.89 for investors in Personal Capital
·         Minimum balance of $100,000 is required for Personal Capital investors
·         The fee depends on the investment balance – the higher the balance the lower the fee in Personal Capital
·         Over 3,700 no transaction fee type of mutual funds with Fidelity
·         Extensive and free research as well as data with Fidelity
·         Access on iOS and Android for Fidelity investment
·         Trades securities like mutual funds, options, bonds, stocks, ETFs, and others in Fidelity
·         No account fees – closing, inactivity, transfer, or annual fees with Fidelity
·         Account minimum for Fidelity investors is $0
·         Fidelity stock trading costs investors $0
·         No base commission in Fidelity - $0.65 for a contract

Who is Personal Capital?

Personal Capital is a company that offers online financial advisory and combines the power of robo-advisor algorithms with the expertise of human advisors to help make wise investment decisions.

It requires a minimum investment dollar amount of $100,000 and an account balance of not less than $200,000 to have two financial advisors assigned to you. Those that have their balances below that only access to a team of advisors and may not have a personalized approach to advisory.

Personal Capital comes with a fee, which is considered higher compared to the peers. The fee starts from 0.89 percent and goes down as the account balances increase. The largest account balance, which is more than $10 million, is charged a fee of $0.49 percent.

The fees that Personal Capital charges come with a set of financial as well as investment planning tools. Some of the tools may be free to non-customers.

Also, the fee comes with the ability to link your existing accounts and be able to track spending, portfolio performance, net worth, retirement progress, and the accruing fees or the fees charged.

A retirement paycheck feature also helps investors plan their withdrawals when they reach retirement including tax-optimized funds-withdrawal strategies. You know that tax can hit hard your retirement investment and withdrawals of the investment, so you need to look for ways to minimize the taxes so that they don’t cripple down your investment.

How Personal Capital Works

The signup is pretty fast and you will provide information including address, name, telephone, email, social security number, date of birth, and other details.

When you are done with the registration, you link your bank account. Your investment cash is placed on your account.

Besides, you also link your other financial accounts including loans, mortgages, 401(k)s, IRAs, checking account, savings account, credit cards, and others. This allows you to view your net worth and have a holistic view of your financial situation. Here, you begin tracking and you create a budget and plan for retirement.

You track your investment using the dashboard features. Also, you start talking to an advisor to start planning with transparent, honest advice.

The advisors go over your spending habits, net worth, and investing strategies, or even life events and new investment goals. The financial advisor you deal with goes over your goals and comes up with a comprehensive strategy that you can utilize 100 percent free. From here, you can now start investing wisely and confidently.

Personal Capital Features

·         Investment Portfolio

Clients who have $100,000 to $200,000 dollar amount in assets are invested within a portfolio of exchange-traded funds. These traded funds attract a weighted-average-expense-ratio of 0.08 percent. These funds are also designed to allow efficiency in tax.

At the same time, clients who have an asset value of $200,000 to $1 million enjoy the above benefits in addition to the ability to tailor a portfolio that features ETFs and stocks.

Moreover, investors who have an asset value of $1 million and above receive all the said services in addition to being able to invest within individual bonds.

·         Smart Weighting

Personal Capital utilizes a personalized approach in selecting a portfolio for the investors. This approach takes a holistic view when it comes to the client’s financial picture. So it doesn’t just consider the assets it manages. The selection process for the portfolio allows the investors to invest equally in the entire sectors instead of mimicking indexes such as the S&P 500.

·         Investment Strategy

Through the Smart Weighting process in portfolio selection, the company is able to reduce risks in investments while also allowing for increased returns – all of which are a holy grail when it comes to investments.

With hypothetical backtests, the Personal Capital is able to see how it performs against the S&P 500, where often it outperforms this index. The hypothesis of backtesting also allows Personal Capital to find individual tax-loss harnessing opportunities.

Since the company uses individual securities, it is easier to target them and the indexes as needed.

·         Tools

Personal Capital offers different free tools as well as comprehensive tools such as investment checkup, spending tracker, and 401(k) fee analyzer. However, you need to create log in credentials so that you can utilize these tools.

Even those not enrolled in Personal Capital advisory service, they could still access these tools. When you have signed in, you can connect your bank account, credit card, and brokerage accounts.

The company will analyze the allocation of assets in your investment account depending on the information that it garners. This way, it is able to tell you exactly the amount you should increase and the amount you should decrease in your holdings of particular asset classes so that it aligns with its recommended target.

Again the do-it-yourself investors are able to utilize this advice so that they make their adjustment in portfolio investing.

·         Accounts Supported

Investing in Personal Capital supports different accounts including Roth, rollover, traditional, and SEP IRAs. It also supports nonretirement accounts and trusts. Besides, the investment supports cash accounts, which aren’t charged management fees.

While Personal Capital advises on 401(k) as well as the 529 plan allocations, it does not directly involve itself in the management of these accounts.

·         Tax Strategy

The company utilizes the tax-loss harnessing strategy on portfolios holding of ETFs and individual stocks. The retirement paycheck feature helps to recommend tax-optimized retirement-withdrawal strategies. This ensures that the investors protect their investment from tax levies that could eat a large chunk of their money.

Pros
·         Rich investment tools for analyzing your investment goals
·         Easy to set up with a step-by-step process
·         Professional human financial advisory
·         Marrying human advise with robo-advisor algorithms
·         Intuitive design and UI for easier interaction

Cons
·         High minimum for Wealth Management
·         Limited budgeting capabilities
·         Solicitation to upgrade to Wealth Management service

Who IS Fidelity

Fidelity is a brokerage investment company founded in 1946, one of the oldest brokerage companies in the industry. The company is always investing in technology and research to help provide a concrete platform for the average investor.

It commits itself to reduce investment costs among investors. You can invest with the company with a little amount, even $10 can do. So, it’s not like other investments where you have put in thousands of dollars in order to invest.

As an average investor, you can take advantage of the 16 base currencies it offers - one of the brokers with a wide range of base currencies.

Opening an account with Fidelity can take you about 1 to 3 days. If you are still undecided as to whether you should join Fidelity or not, you can consider the demo account to help you test the features of the platform.

While Fidelity supports the use of credit cards including the Fidelity Debit Card, the company also allows other methods of funds transfer including automatic deposits from the bank, direct deposit, and bank transfers.

Fidelity allows you to invest in both international and domestic stocks. There are over 30,000 different kinds of investment-grade bonds as well as fixed-income securities that you can tap in.

How Fidelity Works

When you want to invest with Fidelity, you are required to open an account. During the time of opening, you will be asked to fill in personal information that includes your address, name, phone number, email, social security number, date of birth, and other details.

After your account is opened, you choose the preferences and the features you want. For example, you can check that you want to receive your financial document in electronic form.

After you review and accept the terms and conditions, you can transfer money to your account. However, you can still use the demo version.

Fidelity Features

·         Stock Trades

With Fidelity, you can invest in online ETFs and stocks that cost an investor $0. However, if you will opt for broker-assisted trades, you will pay $32.95. There is no limit with your entire trade size or the pricing. If you trade stocks valued under $1, you will not incur extra fees.

·         Minimum Deposits

An investor should have $2,500 in order to be able to trade mutual funds, however, opening an account doesn’t require you to have a minimum deposit. You can have $0 in your account balance. For margin trading, an investor needs to have a minimum deposit to the tune of $5,000.

·         Optional Stocks

A contract for trading options costs you $0.65. And for assignments or any exercise, it is going to cost you $0. Fidelity is among the brokerages where you can trade different options.

·         Mutual Funds

As an investor with Fidelity, you have access to an excess of 13,000 varieties of mutual funds along with 3,700 mutual funds that don’t attract transactional fees (NFTs). With the non-fee transactions, you don’t pay anything for the sell or buys you make.

That said, if your fund manages to sell within 60 days after purchase, you would be charged a redemption fee amounting to $49.95. Typically, funds trades cost $0 for a sale and $49.95 for a buy trade.

The trades you execute via a broker are pretty costly and will cost you almost 75 percent of your principal amount. A minimum balance of $100 to $250 is needed for broker-assisted trades.

·         Portfolio Analysis

Using the FullView tool in the platform allows an investor to pull other accounts that are not within the Fidelity platform to allow for analysis. The investor can check the other accounts, analyze them and see their stand in terms of assets and liquidity. You can also give access to the FullView analysis to your financial or investment advisor.

Pros
·         Solid research tools
·         Strong customer support
·         Commission-free stocks, options, and ETFs
·         Asset screeners
·         Expense-ratio-free index funs
·         Both international and local stocks traded
·         Uninvested money swept back to the market fund

Cons
·         Not eligible for non-US residents
·         No commodities or even options on futures
·         High broker-assisted fees
·         High account financing rates
·         High mutual fund fees

Wrap Up

Looking at Fidelity and Personal Capital, you may find that they are like opposites. Fidelity is designed for the average Joe, the investor who buys and holds. It has low minimum balance requirements. However, Fidelity has extensive tools and research information helpful to investors.

Personal Capital is a high-end investment platform where investors need to have a minimum of $100,000 to invest in their portfolio.

However, with Personal Capital, as the name suggests, you can use individual human advisor that helps you in your investment planning and strategizing.

Working with human advisors along with the robo-advisor algorithm provides a more comprehensive, reliable investment strategy to help with investment decisions. So, depending on your financial situation as well as the kind of expertise you want to get from the financial experts, you can choose Personal Capital or Fidelity.  

Fundrise vs Streitwise


Investing in real estate is one of the wishes of many investors. However, the typical real estate investments where you have to own a physical property tend to push many people out of the investment bandwagon. However, with eREITs and REITs, investors are able to invest in real estate properties by buying shares through a trust. Here, we look at two platforms that offer investment opportunities to investors – that’s Fundrise vs Streitwise.

The investors of Fundrise are able to own real estate without them having to find, manage, and direct the investment. Typically real estate investing is considered a difficult undertaking since investors have to put in a lot of money as capital to get started.

However, Fundrise tries to bridge that gap by offering a chance to inspiring investors to collectively pool their money together. They then use that money to invest in different portfolios of an estate. So the investment minimums are low.

Streitwise offers an opportunity for investors to invest in real estate without necessarily owning a property. It offers real estate investment trust that attracts low fees with low investment minimums.

The company invests in cash-flow or rental real estate meaning investors may have cash flow in the entire life of their investment. So, if you would want to invest in estate properties without having to own a rental property, you may want to try our Streitwise.

Summary

·         Fundrise open to accredited and non-accredited investors
·         Fundrise utilizes eREITs and eFunds
·         A minimum investment amount of $1000 with Fundrise
·         Quarterly dividend distributions with Fundrise
·         Low fees of 1 percent annually with Fundrise
·         Different Portfolio plans with Fundrise
·         Lower than average fees for private REITs with Streitwise
·         Open to an accredited and non-accredited type of investors with Streitwise
·         Streitwise private REIT focusing on cash-flows in real estate like rental offices or office buildings
·         Dividends redeemable on a quarterly basis for Streitwise investors
·         One year locking of principal investment with Streitwise
·         Streitwise available to US citizens as well as legal US residents in addition to non-US customers


Who is Streitwise

Streitwise is among the real-estate investment trusts we have around that people can use to invest. A REIT or real-estate investment trust is a company, owning and managing cash-flowing estates. A REIT passes along the profits it earns to its shareholders via dividends.

Typically, a REIT is an illiquid kind of investment meaning that it’s difficult to have your principal investment out, not until a set period of time. Streitwise manages real estate mainly office properties and is open to most investors.

The company has historically returned dividends of about 10 percent each year. The dividends are distributed to the investors on a quarterly basis.

When you invest with the company, your principal investment gets locked for a period of up to one year. It is after the lockout period when you are able to redeem shares every three months.

When investing with Streitwise, you purchase shares offered through the common stock of the trust. The price of the stock is $10.11 at the time of writing this piece and it is deemed to change after every three months.

If you have a minimum amount of $1000 to invest in the trust, you will have about 98.9 shares. REIT presently holds two commercial properties. The dividends, usually paid on a quarterly basis are net of fees.

Streitwise Features

·         Minimum Initial Investment

Streitwise has a minimum amount for your first investment which is $1000. After that, there are additional investments which are made in $500. So if you are not able to raise $1000, you may not be able to invest in the trust. This is not like other investment platforms that have fractional investments.

·         Account Types

If you are investing in Streitwise REIT, you find that there are different account types. The REIT can be held within corporations or individuals. It can also be held in trusts, LLCs, and 401(k)s, or even IRAs.

·         Streitwise Fees

There are two fee structures for Streitwise. One is the 3 percent upfront fees that are levied when you buy shares. There is also a 2 percent annual management fee. The dividends you receive are therefore net of the 2 percent annual fees.

·         Streitwise Investor Requirements

Accredited investor requirements need to have earned an income exceeding $200,000 or a combined husband-wife income of more than $300,000 within the last two years. They should also expect to earn the same or more the current year.

Alternatively, they should have a net worth of more than $1 million – excluding the value allocated to their primary residence.

·         Dividend Reinvestment

Investors can take advantage of the dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) that Streitwise offers.

Here, you are able to elect to get the dividends you could redeem to be used to purchase additional shares within the REIT. This is one of the ways in which investors are able to multiply their share value within a given period.

·         Platform Security

The processing of investment documents is done through electronic methods via stock transfer agent services. Typically, the services are offered by Computershare and FundAmerica – these two are considered secure SEC complaint platforms.

So you are sure that your documents and the information or data contained therein are safely handled to prevent incidents of data loss or a breach in the protection of sensitive personal data. 

How Streitwise Works

When you want to invest in REIT through Streitwise, you will need to open an account. You will be asked to provide personal information including:
·         Email address
·         Full names
·         Stress address
·         The dollar amount to invest
·         Whether individual or business or group
·         Telephone number
·         Date of birth
·         Social security number
·         Indicate whether accredited or non-accredited investors. So you have to confirm your income as well as your net worth information.

After you feed in this information, you fill out ACH Authorization Form so that you link your bank account. Also, you will have to supply the account name and the routing number as well as the account number.

Also, you have to indicate the account type, for example, checking, personal, business, or savings.

You will have to signs the Subscription Agreement via electronic methods. When you complete the process, you submit the form.

A confirmation of your investment dollar amount is transferred from the bank account you linked. When purchasing actual Streitwise REIT shares, you can do it via the Computershare Investor Center.

Pros
·         REIT available for the accredited and non-accredited type of investors, but accredited status is made only for larger investments
·         REIT held in self-directed IRAs, but can also be held in self-directed 401(k)s. Because real estate offers a long term investment, it can be suited for those seeking retirement investments.
·         The present dividend yield reflects that of the long term yield of the S&P 500. So, Streitwise is considered as a good choice for investment diversification that you can add to your portfolio of bonds and stocks
·         The company uses sound investment strategies when selecting investment properties. For example, it purchases investment when the market costs are low to ensure high dividend yields.
·         Being an equity REIT, the company offers a great opportunity for investors to earn themselves high dividends in their investment while being able to participate in capital appreciation when they sell the investment holdings.
·         Also, the managing partners are involved in the investment – they put their dollar in the REIT and this is a great incentive in managing the trust profitably and responsibly
·         It has high liquidity in that the Streitwise Stockholder Redemption Plan provides you with a chance to redeem stock for 90 percent or so of its value when you have ended the lockout period of one year. Contrary to real estate crowdfunding companies that require investors to remain invested until the investment is disposed of, this does happen to Streitwise REIT.

Cons
·         Streitwise imposes an upfront fee of about 3 percent – the fee is allocated to operations. That being said, this fee is lower when compared to other real estate crowdfunding platforms
·         Presently, investors have an offering of a single estate investment trust – where they hold two investment real estate properties. So, there is limited diversification
·         The company was launched in 2017, so it’s a new platform that may not have a long-standing track record.
·         An investor has limited liquidity, which is typical of real estate investments. Nonetheless, with Streitwise, an investor is able to redeem a majority of their investment value say, after a period of one year. 


Who is Fundrise?

When it comes to investing in real estate through Fundrise, it’s quite unique compared to other platforms like Streitwise. Fundrise offers direct ownership to its investors in the sense that the company owns and runs the properties it invests in.

Fundrise says that they directly own and run each of their investments by using a hands-on approach to help maximize the investment’s value and levering their over 5.4 billion worth of transition experience. The company also sends 100 percent of the profit to the investors.

How Fundrise Works

When you want to invest with Fundrise, you sign up and open the account. You provide your personal information including date of birth, name, address, phone number, social security number, and other details.

Once you have signed up, you can proceed to invest in the low minimum. There are different portfolios you can choose from.

The Starter Portfolio is among the three Core Portfolio plans. Regardless of the portfolio, you select, your money goes to a collection of eREITs as well as eFunds that comprise private real estate property.

Fundrise Features

·         Fundrise Fees

An annual asset management fee of 0.85 percent is levied by Fundrise besides a 0.15 percent advisory fee.

So the total adds up to 1.0 percent annually. That being said, there may be other miscellaneous fees the company may charge which could add up to 2 percent. So you would expect to pay fees of as much as 3 percent annually.

·         Goal-based Investing

This new investment strategy is aimed at offering optimal performance for the investors’ money.

Fundrise offers goal-based investments that come in the form of supplemental income, balanced investing and long term growth. The allocation of your investment depends on whether you want income or growth or a combination of the two.

If an investor is in eREIT, they pay $0 for asset management fees, not unless they have earned at least 15 percent annual returns within the first two years of their investment.

With growth eREIT, Fundrise pays a penalty that could go up to $500,000 to the investors when it earns no more than 20 percent of non-compounded annual returns.

·         Fundrise iPO

This is a new feature that the company has introduced. With iPO, the company will sell shares within the company itself through internet Public Offering (iPO). An investor will need to have in their account an investment amount of $1000 or more. They also need to have selected at least one of the advanced plans. With this offering, an investor is able to invest up to 25 percent of their entire account balance.

Pros
·         Low minimum investment staring with $500
·         Only 0.85 percent charged as asset management fee yearly
·         There is no accreditation  - any investor can invest in the platform regardless of their net worth or income
·         Contrary to REITs, Fundrise’s eREITs tend to offer a pool of different properties that help smooth out returns
·         90-day money-back guarantees – unheard of in the real estate investment world.
·         Quarterly redemptions

Cons
·         eREITs not publicly traded
·         The distributions taxed just like ordinary income- this is opposed to a 15-percent tax rate imposed on qualified dividends


The Wrap Up

While both Streitwise and Fundrise are involved in online real estate investments, they have some unique set of features. Fundrise utilizes eREITs that tend to perform better than typical REITs utilized by Streitwise. Streitwise, being a relatively new kid on the block, it may not have a track record to show its long term investment performance.

Fundrise has been here since 2010 and has shown remarkable performance. Fundrise also offers different portfolio plans allowing the investors to choose their model of investment. This gives investors a broader strategy to invest. However, the investors should be aware of the risks of the investments and the costs involved.  Fundrise owns and operates its properties, unlike Streitwise. Streitwise also has a higher investment fee compared to Fundrise. With these features, you can be able to make an informed decision of the investment platform to go with.


Wednesday, April 15, 2020

How To File For Divorce In Illinois?


How To File For Divorce In Illinois?

Getting a divorce can be emotionally draining and stressful. If the divorce is amicable, you may find it easy to handle things even without needing legal representation. However, when you have issues of communication with your spouse or you seem to agree on matters like child custody and support, and how you should divide your property, you may need the help. In Illinois, divorce is referred to as dissolution of marriage. There are two kinds of divorce, namely: fault-based and the no-fault divorce. In a fault divorce, it requires that one spouse proves the other has engaged in marital misconduct that had led to divorce. With the no-fault divorce, you don’t need to prove that the breakup has been caused by your spouse – you simply state your marriage is “irretrievably broken.” 

That being said, how do you go about filing for divorce in Illinois?

Prepare Divorce Forms

From the Illinois Legal Aid Online resource page, you can find information about the divorce process and forms. You need to determine the divorce type you want to file. There are different things the court will consider when looking at the divorce.

You will have to gather and complete the necessary forms. You can find the standard divorce forms that the Illinois Supreme Court publishes.

Depending on the county where you reside, you may need additional or even different forms. Take, for example, the Cook County Circuit Court provides you a link where you can find divorce forms, so you want to consider checking with the circuit court clerk in your areas so see if there are specific forms that you may need to fill in your county.

That being said, you will also need to file what is known as the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. This is a written request that says you seek divorce. In the forms, you will see terms like the “defendant” or “respondent” and “plaintiff” or “petitioner.”

The spouse filing for divorce petitions is referred to as the plaintiff while the other takes the defendant role. In the event that you have a minor, you will be required to file additional forms including the Joint Parenting Agreement, Uniform Order of Support, and Visitation Form.

For Illinois couples who do not have minors and have minimal assets, they file a different form known as Joint Simplified Divorce. This kind of divorce utilizes different forms from the typical divorce fling. You can check with your court clerk's office in your local area.

Filing the Forms

When you fill out the forms you should file them with the court’s clerk. You may find the clerk’s office within the courthouse. If the office is not located in the courthouse, just inquire and you will be directed its location. You will have to pay a fee for filing the forms when you deliver them to the clerk. You may want to call the clerk’s office before you go to file the forms. This will help you know what amount of fee you need to pay.

The fee may vary, expect to pay somewhere between $200 and $350 depending on your area. It is also possible that you can get a fee waiver based on your financial situation. You can find information regarding fee waivers from Illinois’ Legal Aid website resource. 

Serving your Spouse

You need to “serve” your spouse via the sheriff’s office or private process server. The court may also give you permission to use a non-party who is over 18 to deliver the forms. When it comes to “serving” the other spouse, it simply means providing them with copies of your divorce documents that have been filed in the case. If the sheriff office delivers the papers, you get a proof-of-service document that you should file with the court.

If you are filing a fault-based complaint, there are different things that you can cite as the grounds for divorce. For example, you can state that impotence, bigamy, adultery, or felony conviction as the reason for divorce. You may also state that abandonment for a specific period of time or extreme mental and physical cruelty or drug addiction is the reason for wanting to divorce.

Since Illinois courts seldom consider the fault of each spouse as the foundation for dividing property, many couples will not bother having a list of the reasons for divorce in a fault-based divorce.

Sometimes, you find that your spouse isn’t within reach, for example, he or she is in jail, is deployed with state missions like military, or he or she is not in the state, you should seek alternative serving method. You can check with the court clerk in your area to find out more about the service rules in situations that seem extraordinary for divorce forms’ serving. 

Financial Disclosures

Many counties require that both spouses file a Financial Disclosure Statement. This document is filed with the court at the time of a divorce process. The disclosures demand each party to provide a list of their assets, income sources, debts, mortgage expenses, and even credit card bills among other financial details. With Financial Disclosures, they help make the process involving the division of marital property a straightforward one. Also, the disclosures help the judges to decide on alimony as well as the child support awards.

Conclusion

In essence, these are the steps you need to take when you want to file for divorce in Illinois. The process of filing for divorce is just straightforward when you know how to go about it. Make sure you are precise with the information and fill the details correctly in the forms.

In order to file dissolution of marriage based on a no-fault divorce, you and your spouse should have resided in Illinois for not less than three months. You should also have lived separately in which case; you stay like just roommates and not like spouse. You need to realize that living separately doesn’t mean staying apart or being physically separated, it means that you’re just not living as a spouse anymore. You could be in the same house, but you don’t live like spouse.