Divorce terminates a marriage legally, while separation maintains the marriage status with physical separation.
A legal separation and divorce serve different purposes in Canadian family law. While both arrangements allow couples to live separately, they have distinct legal implications:
- In a legal separation, couples remain legally married but live apart, maintaining certain spousal rights and obligations
- A divorce completely dissolves the marriage, allowing both parties to remarry
- Separated couples can reconcile without legal proceedings, while divorced couples must remarry to restore their union
- Both arrangements typically address matters like property division, support payments, and child custody
- Some couples choose separation over divorce for religious, financial, or personal reasons