What Is Judicial Separation, And How Does It Differ From Divorce?

This article was authored by Sophie Capo-Bianco.

Under English law, there is an option to legally separate from your spouse, which is popular for those who have a religious objection to being legally divorced, or for those who have not been married a year. Even though judicial separation does not dissolve a marriage, it means that a spouse can seek financial orders. However there are some restrictions as, for instance, the court does not have the power to make a pension sharing order within judicial separation proceedings, only a limited pension attachment order.

Grounds for Judicial Separation

The same five grounds are relied upon as they are for divorce proceedings, namely:

the Respondent has committed adultery and the Petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent; the Respondent has behaved in such a way that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the Respondent; the Respondent has deserted the Petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition and the Respondent consents to a decree being granted; the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least five years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. However, unlike divorce proceedings, the court does not contemplate whether the marriage has irretrievably broken down. In addition, there is only one decree instead of two, which is known as a decree of judicial separation. Once that decree is pronounced then the two parties are judicially separated with no obligation to live together, but they will remain married.

Procedure for Judicial Separation

Similarly to divorce proceedings, judicial separation is referred to as matrimonial proceedings which begin once a Petitioner has...