separation, in law, mutual agreement by a husband and a wife to discontinue living together. A legal separation does not dissolve the marriage contract but merely adjusts the couple’s obligations under it in light of their desire to live separately. Practically, however, separation is often a prelude to divorce. Such agreements usually contain provisions on the care and support of children.
If a lawsuit occurs over the meaning of the agreement, the courts have traditionally favoured the wife, on the theory that her dependency demands that she be protected.
The parties need not go to court to terminate a separation agreement. They can do so at any time by mutual assent, and the law presumes that they have done so if they resume living together.
The filing of a divorce suit or even the granting of a divorce does not terminate a separation agreement, which is an independent contract. A claim for alimony, however, is usually interpreted as an assent to repudiation of the old agreement.
One spouse can acquire from the court the equivalent of a separation if the other has deserted or is behaving cruelly or viciously. This is called a decree of separate maintenance. It fixes the obligations of the deserting spouse toward the other. The procedures for obtaining separate maintenance and setting its terms are essentially the same as those involved in alimony. The grounds required for separate maintenance must usually be serious, especially if there are children involved. Under some jurisdictions, they must be such as would render the normal performance of marital duties impossible. Under other jurisdictions, they must be such as would justify divorce.
A spouse’s right to separate maintenance ends with the dissolution of the marriage relation or with the other spouse’s death. The same effect obtains if the couple resumes living together or if the spouse being maintained acquires unexpected wealth. Misconduct of the spouse being maintained also ends the other’s obligation.