Legal separation and divorce are two different legal events you can choose when you are ready to end your marriage, and while they are similar in nature, they are not the same thing. There are several key differences to understand between legal separation and divorce, and these are some of the main differences.

Divorce ends the marriage from a legal perspective

The key difference between legal separation and divorce is the way it is viewed from a legal perspective. A divorce permanently ends a marriage and makes both spouses single in the eyes of the law. A legal separation does not do this. Instead, a couple that is legally separated is still married legally. This means that you cannot remarry a different person while you are legally separated. If you wanted to remarry, you would need to wait until your divorce was finalized before going through with another marriage.

Divorce ends certain benefits

The second difference involves the benefits of each option. Because you are still legally married when legally separated, you are entitled to file joint tax returns. A lot of couples find that filing together helps them save money on their taxes, and this is a huge benefit. Another benefit of legal separation is that you can continue sharing a health insurance plan. If your spouse gets health insurance, you can stay on the plan while you are legally separated, whereas this would not be an option if you were divorced.

The divorce decree is permanent

The other difference is the settlement of each option. When you get legally separated, you have a temporary agreement in place that tells you details about things such as custody of the kids and who gets to live in the house. This agreement is something that is subject to change if you get divorced. If that happens, though, you will end up with a divorce decree, which is a permanent document that outlines the settlement of the divorce. While you could modify things this decree says, it is not easy to do. You would have to get a court order to make any changes to what this decree says, as it is permanent and final.

There are a lot of similarities between legal separation and divorce, too, and you should compare these before choosing which route you would like to take. You can learn more about both options by talking to local law firm services.