There are several differences between a legal separation and a divorce. To list a few:

• The main difference is that a judgment of legal separation does not terminate marital status (i.e., neither party can enter into a new marriage until the existing marriage is dissolved by death of the other party or by a judgment of dissolution.) Most of the time, the parties obtain legal separation when the spouses do not want to live together but cannot divorce for religious or personal reasons. For example, one of the parties has a preexisting medical condition (for which new coverage would not be available) and wants to retain eligibility for medical insurance available through the other spouse’s.
• There is no waiting period in a legal separation.
• Both spouses have to agree to a legal separation (i.e., if one spouse wants a separation, but the other spouse wants a divorce, legal separation may not be granted.)