Editing Legal separation (section)

{{Short description|Court approved separation that maintains a legal marriage}}
{{Close Relationships}}
{{Family law}}

'''Legal separation''' (sometimes '''judicial separation''', '''separate maintenance''', '''divorce ''{{Lang|la|a mensa et thoro}}''''', or '''divorce from bed-and-board''') is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a {{Lang|la|[[de facto]]}} [[marital separation|separation]] while remaining legally married. A legal separation is granted in the form of a [[court order]]. In cases where children are involved, a court order of legal separation often makes [[child custody]] arrangements, specifying [[sole custody]] or [[shared parenting]], as well as [[child support]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Statsky |first1=William P. |title=Family law |date=2012 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=9781435440746 |page=254 |edition=Sixth}}</ref> Some couples obtain a legal separation as an alternative to a [[divorce]], based on moral or religious objections to divorce.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Call |first1=Vaughn R. A. |last2=Heaton |first2=Tim B. |title=Religious Influence on Marital Stability |journal=Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion |date=September 1997 |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=382 |doi=10.2307/1387856|jstor=1387856 }}</ref>

Legal separation does not automatically lead to divorce. The couple might [[Reconciliation (family law)|reconcile]], in which case they do not have to do anything in order to continue their marriage.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wineberg |first1=Howard |last2=McCarthy |first2=James |title=Separation and Reconciliation in American Marriages |journal=Journal of Divorce & Remarriage |date=7 March 1994 |volume=20 |issue=1–2 |pages=21–42 |doi=10.1300/J087v20n01_02}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Doherty |first1=William J. |last2=Willoughby |first2=Brian J. |last3=Peterson |first3=Bruce |title=Interest in Martial Reconciliation Among Divorcing Parents |journal=Family Court Review |date=April 2011 |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=313–321 |doi=10.1111/j.1744-1617.2011.01373.x}}</ref>