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 Illinois, legal separation is a legally recognized status. Under Illinois law, a spouse may file for legal separation if they are living apart from their spouse and wish to formalize the arrangement without pursuing a divorce. The process is supervised by the court, which can issue orders regarding support and maintenance, as well as child custody and visitation, but does not divide property as it would in a divorce. A separation agreement may be created to outline the rights and responsibilities of each spouse during the separation period. Unlike some states, Illinois does not require spouses to be legally separated for any specific period before filing for divorce. The relevant laws can be found in the Illinois Compiled Statutes, specifically within the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.