What are the advantages of a judicial separation?

Being legally separated instead of divorced means a couple can continue to benefit from many of the practical and financial advantages of being married to each other while conducting separate lives. For example, if one spouse has a health insurance plan from their employer, their partner will not continue to benefit from it after they divorce. If they legally separate, however, those benefits will be retained.

Those who have moral or religious reasons to object to a divorce may choose judicial separation because it does not end their marriage or civil partnership under the law.

Some people apply for judicial separation because they have not been married or in a civil partnership for a year and therefore cannot yet divorce or dissolve their civil partnership. Others may not be ready to take the final step, and a judicial separation can provide breathing space to consider their options.

It is important to know that if there is provision for a spouse in a Will, this is nullified by legal separation, although a spouse may still be eligible for pension scheme benefits if their partner dies. A new will must be created for a spouse to continue to be a beneficiary.