Short answer. Article 57 of the Family Code measures the five-year period from the occurrence of the cause, not from any specific act in a series. Where repeated battery constitutes a continuing course of conduct, the analysis of which incident starts the clock depends on the specific facts — it is not automatically the first or the last.
What the law says
An action for legal separation shall be filed within five years from the time of the occurrence of the cause.
Family Code, Article 57 — Prescriptive Period. Read the full provision →
The statutory rule
Article 57 of the Family Code provides: "An action for legal separation shall be filed within five years from the time of the occurrence of the cause." The statute speaks of the cause — a single concept — not of individual acts. Where the ground for legal separation is physical violence or battery, each episode may itself satisfy the ground. The difficulty arises because repeated battering can be characterized either as a series of separate, individually sufficient causes or as one continuing course of conduct.
Why the answer depends on your facts
If each instance of battery is treated as a distinct cause, then the five-year period for each incident begins on the date that incident occurred. An incident that happened six or seven years ago may already be time-barred even if later incidents are not. On the other hand, where the violence forms an unbroken, escalating pattern, the overall picture is the relevant cause. The specific facts — whether there were long gaps, whether earlier incidents were prosecuted separately, whether the pattern was continuous — determine how a court will characterize the situation. This is not a question that resolves itself from the text of the statute alone.
The risk of waiting
Whatever view applies in your case, delay carries real risk. If the five-year clock began running on an earlier incident, waiting until a recent episode to file may mean that some or all of the grounds are already prescribed. A petition is not required to rely on every past incident, but anchoring your case to a recent act while earlier acts are time-barred may affect how the petition is framed and what evidence you need. Speaking with a lawyer as soon as you are safe enough to do so is strongly advisable.
Other protections available now
Legal separation under the Family Code is not your only option when you are in a situation involving repeated violence. Protective legislation provides immediate mechanisms for safety and relief that are not subject to the same prescriptive framework as a legal separation petition. A lawyer can help you understand the range of remedies and identify which are most appropriate given your circumstances and the dates involved.