Legal separation is an action filed in court whereby the court may be asked to enter orders for issues such as custody, child support, alimony and the division of property, just as it would in a divorce. However, when a judgment of legal separation has been entered, the marriage is NOT dissolved. In other words, the parties are free to live separate and apart from one another – but they may not remarry another person because they are not divorced. Either party may petition the court to convert the legal separation into a divorce without having to revisit the orders entered at the time of the legal separation. Further, a legal separation can also be undone by both parties filing a declaration of resumption of marital relations in court. In other words, if the parties choose to reunite, they are not required to re-marry each other.

In a divorce, courts may enter orders for the same issues as they would in a legal separation. Once a judgment is entered, the parties are free to live separate and apart from each other permanently — and either party is legally free to marry another person. A divorce decree is final. This means that if the parties wish to reunite, the divorce action cannot be undone, as with a legal separation. If the parties wish to re-enter their legal relationship, they must legally re-marry.