Legal Separation Legal Separation Legal separation does everything that a dissolution of marriage does except that it stops short of actually dissolving the marriage.
Married persons can choose to legally separate, rather than dissolve the marriage.
Legal separations are governed by A.R.S. 25-313 et seq . While the marriage is maintained, community property rights do terminate after a Decree of Legal Separation is entered. Legal separation also differs from a dissolution of marriage in that there is no residency requirement for filing. Such a choice is usually made because of religious restrictions on divorce, moral objections to divorce, or health insurance concerns. Most insurance policies will continue to carry a legally separated spouse but will not carry an ex-spouse.