You don’t have to be living in different homes to be classified as being separated. You can be classed as ‘living separately and apart’. It’s all about whether or not you are living separate lives. Yes, different addresses will prove it, certainly as far as the courts are concerned. But in some separations, living at different locations isn’t financially viable, or indeed possible due to childcare needs, so you can live in the same house and still be classed as being separated. It falls on the couple to prove to the courts that they are living separate lives even though they are inhabiting the same space. It’s a complex process that usually requires legal expertise to prove. Usually, the following factors will be taken into account:

• Lack of communication between spouses
• Taking separate meals
• Not doing things together
• No sexual relations
• Division of assets and finances
• Division of household responsibilities