Legal separation in North Carolina is a court order that allows a married couple to live apart while remaining legally married. This differs from absolute divorce, which terminates the marital relationship. To initiate this process, a party must file specific documents with the court and demonstrate grounds for the separation, typically involving evidence of abandonment or malicious turning out of doors. The initiating spouse must then serve the other spouse with the filed documents.
Pursuing this arrangement provides a formal framework for couples navigating a period of estrangement. It can be beneficial for maintaining healthcare coverage, protecting certain inheritance rights, or for religious reasons that preclude divorce. Historically, legal separation served as a precursor to divorce proceedings, allowing couples time to resolve issues and determine if reconciliation was possible before permanently dissolving the marriage.
