Judicial Separation Or Divorce – What’s The Difference

Marriages are often referred to as a walk on a thin thread—continuously exposed to the sharp end of the sword. Some couples make it to the end, while some fall short of fulfilling the vows of a lifetime. The ones that decide to pull out of this commitment have two ways to go—a divorce or a judicial separation.

What is a Judicial Separation?

Most couples are only aware of a divorce as the formal procedure of ending a marriage. However, they also have the option of ending things with a mere legal separation. This legalized form of separation is termed Judicial Separation.

This decree of separation by law allows a couple to part ways without ending their marriage. According to the law of the United Kingdom, certain points must be cleared before filing a divorce.

Why Obtain a Judicial Separation?

Usually, for the people in the UK, judicial separation isn’t a sensible option since the marriage stays intact at the end of it. However, people with strong religious and moral objections to divorce tend to rely upon this option.

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So now that we understand what a judicial separation is, let’s compare it with what we know about the law of divorce in the United Kingdom.

Differences between Divorce and Judicial Separation

Following are the differences between divorce and judicial separation:

Marriage Remains Intact

As we’ve previously established—getting a judicial separation means the marriage doesn’t end. Whereas getting a divorce means ending all the ties and relations between you and your spouse.

Time Frame

You can file for a judicial separation at any time after the marriage. This is different from a divorce, where by law, you have to wait for a year after the marriage to file for ending your ties legally.

Court Requirements

For a successful divorce appeal, you need to present evidence that your marriage is irretrievably broken. This claim is based on the five reasons of adultery, long-term separation, change in behaviour, and desertion.

Judicial Separation doesn’t require proof of either of these five. However, for separation, the court must be satisfied with a reason out of these five.

Right to Re-Marry

Since the marriage remains in a Judiciary separation, either party will not be allowed to re-marry unless they are granted complete absolution of their marriage.