Marital separation occurs when spouses in a marriage stop living together without getting

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d. Married couples may separate as an initial step in the divorce process or to gain perspective on the marriage and determine whether divorce is warranted. Other couples may separate as an alternative to divorce for economic or religious reasons, for tax purposes, or to ensure continuing retirement and/or health insurance benefits for both spouses. A separation can be initiated informally, or there can be a legal separation with a formal

separation agreement Legal separation (sometimes judicial separation, separate maintenance, divorce ', or divorce from bed-and-board) is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is gra ...

filed with the court. As for a divorce, the latter may include provisions for

alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial sup ...

, whether to have

sole custody Sole custody is a child custody arrangement whereby only one parent has custody of a child. In the most common use of the term, sole custody refers to a context in which one parent has sole physical custody of a child. Types of custody Depending ...

or shared parenting of any children, and the amount of

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

Separation to enhance a marriage

Although the emotional impact of separation is similar to that of divorce, some argue that a temporary separation may also occur to enhance the marriage as a tool to stay together. Some experts regard a six-month separation as good amount of time for a temporary separation, since it is long enough to set up a second household and gain perspective, but not long enough to seem permanent.

Ground for divorce

A separation may be unilaterally decided by one of the spouses moving away. Many U.S. state statutes, for example Virginia's, specify that being separated for a given period of time can be grounds for divorce.

References

{{Interpersonal relationships footer Disrupted marriage

Separation to enhance a marriage

Ground for divorce

See also

References