Legal separation is a court process to determine some of the important rights and relationships between spouses who have decided to separate, but not divorce. Thus, when the process is over, the spouses are still married.

The process for Legal Separation involves all of the same issues that the process for Dissolution (Divorce) involves, including: custody, visitation, child support, spousal maintenance, and division of property and debts. However, all of the legal rights and relationships resulting from marriage are not necessarily ended, as with a divorce.

If either spouse later wanted to remarry another, that spouse would have to file for Divorce regardless of the fact that the parties had already been legally separated.