Trial separation differs from legal separation in that it doesn’t involve the court. It is more of an informal agreement between spouses. This may be a test run (hence, trial) to see how separating plays out between them. Because it is on the spouses’ own terms, legal documents are not involved in a trial separation. That means that any property acquired during this time is still considered marital property. From a trial separation, parties can choose whether they want to continue their relationship or move further into legal separation or divorce.