It comes as no big surprise that Katharine McPhee, American Idol finalist and actress in Smash and Scorpion, is divorcing her husband, Nick Cokas after six years of marriage. The couple became estranged about a year ago when McPhee was photographed kissing Smash director, Michael Morris, after the two of them had lunch together in Los Angeles. At the time, Morris was married, and actually still is married, to actress Mary McCormack.

TMZ reports that in McPhee’s divorce documents she claims that she was separated from Cokas at the time of the kissing incident with Morris. Cokas, on the other hand, is claiming in his responsive divorce documents that the separation was actually in May 2014, seven months after the kissing incident between McPhee and Morris. The couple’s date of separation is a significant point of contention because it will determine what portion of the money that Katharine has recently made will be considered her sole and separate property, rather than community property. McPhee has approximately $700,000 owed to her from Columbia/Epic records, so this isn’t exactly a small chunk of change that we’re talking about.

Although the public might assume that kissing someone other than your spouse means that the married couple is separated, this isn’t necessarily true. From a legal perspective, a couple’s date of separation is the first date when either party subjectively decided the marriage was over, and not salvageable, and their overt actions demonstrate that subjective frame of mind. Physical separation is not sufficient to show that you are separated because some people live separate but do not intend to end their marriage. The Court will look at your conduct toward each other to determine when the marriage “ended” for purposes of choosing the date of separation.

An instance of infidelity is also not sufficient to determinatively set the parties date of separation. Since the kissing incident, it was reported that McPhee and Cokas were working on their marriage and that Morris and McCormack had also reconciled. McPhee and Cokas were even see walking their dogs together and smiling. Cokas also claims that he has plenty of evidence to show that they didn’t separate until May 2014. He claims that he has emails and texts evidencing their relationship. Other sources also claim that the couple was in marriage counseling after the kissing incident in an effort to save their marriage. So just because McPhee was caught kissing another man, doesn’t mean that was their date of separation.

If you are considering a divorce and need assistance determining your date of separation, Bickford Blado & Botros are here to assist you and guide you through these difficult times. Nancy J. Bickford is the only attorney in San Diego County representing clients in divorces, who is a Certified Family Law Specialist and who is actively licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Call 858-793-8884 to receive assistance today so that you can move on with your life.