Question: What is the difference between legal separation and dissolution (divorce)?
Answer: Not much. The main practical difference is that you can’t get remarried. In all other respects – property settlement, child support, etc. – you are as good as divorced.
People usually pursue legal separation instead of divorce for one of three reasons:
- They have religious beliefs that discourage divorce.
- One spouse really needs the health insurance of the other spouse (though many insurance companies now terminate benefits upon a final Decree of Legal Separation).
- They are – maybe in the back of their minds – considering reconciliation.
Note that once a Petition for Legal Separation has been filed, either spouse may file a motion to convert it into a Divorce, before or after the case is finalized. The other spouse has no legal right to object to this.
