a divorce means the marriage is legally over. the court can determine the allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, and child support. legal separation is a technical term. a legal separation does not legally end a marriage. a court can determine the allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, child support, and maintenance (spousal support). the court cannot divide property unless you and your spouse agree. obtaining a legal separation does not prevent you or your spouse from obtaining a divorce later. a legal separation is different than a physical separation. however, there are situations where getting a legal separation would make the most sense. you must then file a petition for legal separation with the circuit clerk in your area.

when you and your spouse are contemplating divorce and would like to be legally separated after having formally discussed and negotiated the division of your assets, then you will need to construct a separation agreement form. our free sample separation agreement forms will help save you from the hassle of having to construct a contract from scratch. to formalize a separation agreement, full disclosure of assets have to be listed down as well as responsibilities tied to them, values, and other details.