Divorce vs. Legal Separation in Tennessee

What are the differences between Tennessee legal separation and Tennessee divorce?

A divorce is the dissolution of a state-recognized marriage; it effectively ends the marriage and divvies up any of the couple’s assets, properties, and finances. A legal separation is a court-ordered separation period; the couple’s marriage contract remains intact; however, the two spouses live in separate locations.

Both a divorce and legal separation address similar issues: custody and visitation rights of any children, spousal and financial support, and division or property. Essentially, the only difference is the status of the marriage; in a legal separation, the couple can decide to cohabitate at any time and continue to be recognized as married. In a divorce, they cannot; the couple would be forced to remarry if they wanted to get back together.

In Tennessee, if a legal separation lasts for two years or longer, either spouse has the right to file for divorce. A legal separation agreement is usually used as the basis for a divorce agreement if the separation leads to divorce years later.

To learn more, read What Is Legal Separation?