Also known as: formal separations · legal separation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A court proceeding in which spouses obtain a judicial decree separating their marital rights and obligations without dissolving the marriage. The decree permits one spouse to petition for support based on need and the other spouse's ability to pay and allows equitable division of property in appropriate cases.
Felicia Fuentes stopped receiving household funds from her husband Fabian Flynn after he moved assets into a separate account. Felicia filed a petition for formal separation and requested temporary alimony. The court examined her monthly expenses and Fabian's income and ordered support payments to cover housing and medical costs.
Felicity French and Frank Fisher included a broad arbitration clause in their postnuptial agreement. When Felicity sought an award of formal separation in arbitration, the arbitrator declined because the statute reserves status-changing decrees exclusively to courts.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Freya Freeman filed a verified petition for formal separation that alleged the marriage was irretrievably broken and listed the parties' ages, occupations, residences, and marriage date. The clerk accepted the filing and scheduled a hearing on temporary orders.
Fabian Flynn and Felicity French each held separate retirement accounts and jointly owned a vacation cabin. In the formal separation proceeding the court assigned the retirement accounts to their respective owners and divided the cabin's equity in just proportions after considering the length of the marriage and each spouse's contributions.
Felipe Figueroa petitioned for formal separation and asked the court to divide the couple's investment portfolio. The court considered the duration of the marriage, each spouse's health and earning capacity, and the contribution of the homemaker spouse before making an equitable apportionment of the assets.
After the court entered a decree of formal separation for Foster Forge and Frontier Capital's owners, one spouse immediately appealed on property issues. The appeal did not delay the finality of the separation decree itself.
The verified petition must allege that the marriage is irretrievably broken and must set forth the age, occupation, and residence of each party along with the date and place of the marriage.
Supporting sources
No. Family law arbitration statutes expressly withhold authority from arbitrators to issue awards that grant legal separation, divorce, or annulment because those decrees alter marital status.
Supporting sources
Spouses remain obligated to support one another. A spouse who is not receiving support may petition the court for alimony and child support in a formal separation action, and the amount is determined by the supported spouse's need and the other spouse's ability to pay.
Supporting sources
The decree is final when entered, subject only to the right of appeal. An appeal that does not challenge the finding that the marriage is irretrievably broken does not delay the finality of the separation itself.
Supporting sources
The court assigns each spouse's separate property to that spouse and divides community or marital property in just proportions without regard to marital misconduct, taking into account factors such as the duration of the marriage, each spouse's contributions, and future earning capacity.
Supporting sources
…in pertinent part: "(1) No license shall be issued to any person who is or has been a party to an action for divorce or legal separation in this state or elsewhere unless the court in the action for divorce or legal separation has granted permission to marry. The court may grant permission to marry only if it finds that the…