ABA Family Legal Guide

Family Law

3.4 Separation, Annulment, and Divorce

Separation and Separate Maintenance

What is a legal separation?

A legal separation allows the husband and wife to live separately and formalize the arrangement by a court order or a written agreement. The order or agreement will specify what support, if any, one spouse will pay the other. If the husband and wife have minor children, the agreement or court order will set out arrangements regarding custody or visitation.

A legal separation is not the same as a divorce. A separation recognizes the possibility that the couple might reunite. In any case, its terms can be modified by the parties or the court when the couple divorces. Most important, people who are legally separated may not remarry. They must wait until a divorce is final before marrying again.

When a husband and wife legally separate, they no longer accumulate community or marital property. The property acquired after the legal separation will be considered each partner's separate or nonmarital property.