Legal Separation

• A "legal separation" involves a formal legal agreement, approved by a judge, between spouses who wish to separate their lives and finances while remaining married. While couples may informally "separate" and establish different households while married, only a judge can order a legal separation.
  
  

Divorce

• A divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage and can only be ordered by a judge. Unlike some states, Washington does not require that a couple separate, legally or otherwise, prior to getting divorced.
  
  

Remarriage

• A legally separated couple remains married, and neither party is free to marry someone else. If a separated spouse wishes to remarry, she must first get divorced.
  
  

Custody and Finances

• Property division, alimony, child support and custody issues may all be part of a separation agreement. Washington is a community property state, so assets acquired during the marriage are divided equally between spouses. Couples who separate should be aware that if they later divorce, the judge may use their separation agreement as a basis for the divorce settlement.
  
  

Health Insurance and Inheritance

• When a couple is legally separated, they can still inherit from each other. While some couples choose legal separation over divorce because one spouse needs health insurance coverage, some insurance companies now terminate coverage upon legal separation.