Legal separation is a legally recognized status in some states in which the spouses’ act of separating or living apart has legal consequences and changes the spouses’ rights and responsibilities. In some states the legal separation process is supervised by the court, which issues court orders for the parties to follow during their legal separation.

And in some states the spouses may enter into a written separation agreement that defines their rights and responsibilities during the separation period. Some states even require spouses to be separated for some period of time (e.g., one year) before they are able to divorce.

But some states—including Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Texas—do not recognize legal separation, and the spouses are married, with the same rights and responsibilities, until they are divorced.

Laws regarding legal separation vary from state to state and are usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the family or domestic relations code.

In Idaho, legal separation is recognized and is known as a 'separate maintenance action.' This legal process allows married couples to live apart while remaining legally married, and it addresses similar issues to those dealt with in a divorce, such as property division, child custody, child support, and spousal support. The process is supervised by the court, which can issue orders that the parties must follow during their separation. To initiate a legal separation in Idaho, one spouse must file a petition for separate maintenance in the district court. The court may then grant a decree of separate maintenance, which legally acknowledges the separation and outlines the rights and responsibilities of each spouse. Unlike some states, Idaho does not require couples to be legally separated for any specific period before they can file for divorce. However, the terms set during the legal separation can often serve as a basis for the final divorce decree, should the couple decide to proceed with a divorce later on.