As explained in the menu item marriage proceedings, wives and husbands could apply for the settlement of the secular effects of marriage either to the local courts having jurisdiction over them or to the ecclesiastical court. In practice, the right to a separate place of residence as well as the right to provisional maintenance for oneself and any children during the marriage proceedings were often negotiated in the consistories, while wives and husbands usually brought proceedings to settle the consequences of separation or divorce before the secular local courts.