They say that love is one of the forces that moves the world. And the truth is that it is one of the most powerful emotions, capable of making us unite our life and our path with those of another person.

But, however, sometimes love ends too. It is possible that a couple cannot resolve incompatibilities of character or vital goals, that infidelities occur and these cannot be forgiven or, simply, that the flame of love that united the couple ends up being extinguished or transformed into something totally different from what our partner made us feel.

In many of these cases, the couple may decide that it is best to break up the relationship or let it rest for a while, to either reflect or go it alone. This breakup can take many names, the most well known being separation or divorce. But although sometimes they are spoken of indistinctly, the truth is that we are faced with two terms that are not synonymous. Throughout this article we will make a brief definition of each of them and see the differences between separation and divorce .

Separation and divorce: basic definition

Separation and divorce are two terms widely known by most of the population, often being deeply linked to each other . However, we are not dealing with synonymous concepts, each of them referring to a different reality.

We understand separation to be the process by which life in a couple ends or ceases, being the product of a decision by both components (de facto separation) or by judicial means.

Although the separation implies that each of the members of a couple will go on to live their lives independently (having to agree on the custody and care of the offspring, aspects linked to the dwelling or the division of the assets, annulling the matrimonial economic regime) it does not imply per se the dissolution of the couple on a legal level, following in practice both married subjects.

Separation implies a situation where the couple can either reconcile or divorce, and it is usually a period where the members of the couple decide whether they will try to return or cease their relationship altogether.

With regard to divorce, this is known as the process by which the members of the couple completely extinguish their conjugal union, in such a way that an end is put to the marriage and after the process is completed they are no longer married. Although in the past it was necessary for both spouses to agree to this pass, at present it is only necessary for one of them to require it and not requiring the agreement of the other to end their legal bond.

However, it will be necessary to establish, either by mutual agreement or through the courts, aspects such as the custody, care and maintenance of children, visitation arrangements for those without custody, or the distribution of assets in the event of maintaining a community property regime.

In practice, both concepts have many aspects in common : generally in both cases there is a dissolution of a couple’s relationship, as well as the cessation of the regime of shared and community property, the elimination of powers such as the possibility of inheritance or donation and rights with respect to and the taking of different types of legal measures with respect to the custody, maintenance and care of children and dependent beings.

In fact, historically they have been so linked that in Spain, until 2005, in order to be able to divorce, it was a necessary requirement to have been separated. But as can be deduced from their descriptions, there are differences that differentiate them from each other.

Differences between separation and divorce

Separation and divorce, although as we have said they are two concepts that, although they have much in common, at the bottom they refer to different processes which have elements that allow them to be distinguished . In this sense, the main differences between divorce and separation are the following, although the latter has more to do with the colloquial use of the term than with the concept itself

1. Extinction of marriage

The main and most notorious difference between separation and divorce concerns the type of bond that such a rupture implies.

While in the case of separation we only refer to the cessation of the cohabitation and the life in common (having if it is by judicial means legal effects on the goods, custody of children, pets and dependent persons and on the possibility of inheritance) without for that reason both subjects cease to be married, in the case of divorce the matrimonial union is completely ceased , leaving both subjects to be legally united with all that this implies.

2. Reversibility

A second difference between separation and divorce is found in the reversibility of the process. Divorce implies a totally irreversible dissolution of the marriage even in the case of reconciliation, the only legal alternative being to remarry. On the contrary, the separation does not extinguish the matrimonial bond , so in case of reconciliation the couple would continue to be legally united and could reinstate the previous rights and legal status prior to their separation after having notified the judge.

3. Remarriage

Another difference, directly derived from the previous one, is the possibility of remarrying someone else. In the case of divorce, the legal bond that united people has been dissolved, and they can remarry if they wish. However, when we talk about separation there has been no dissociation between the spouses, so that they are still legally married and cannot remarry (or else bigamy would be committed).

4. One does not necessarily imply the other

Although it may seem strange and generally when a divorce occurs, separation also comes hand in hand, the truth is that one thing does not necessarily imply the other: it is possible for a couple to separate (even legally) without getting divorced, for example because they still do not know whether to reconcile or divorce , as well as the less frequent fact that even if the couple gets divorced legally, in practice they can continue to live together without separating (beyond legal separation and cessation of the rights proper to the marital union).

5. Availability

Another difference can be found in the fact that there is the possibility of recourse to the procedure in question. Although it is possible to get a divorce in most countries today, there are still some countries where divorce is not legal, such as the Philippines and the Vatican. In these places, separation is the only possible option for those couples who no longer want to be together , and it must also be a de facto separation.

6. Difference in the use of the term: existence or not of effects at the legal level

A possible difference between separation and divorce comes from the colloquial use of the first of the terms, not really being a difference if we are talking about a legal separation.

When we talk about separation, in many cases we are talking about a de facto separation, in which both people agree to stop seeing each other for an undetermined period of time without any type of judicial intervention and in which there should be no legal repercussions.

This would be a difference from the term divorce, in which we always speak of the extinction of a marriage bond in which there are effects at the legal level. However, there is also separation as a legal procedure, in which legal institutions would mediate and which would have a legal effect applicable to aspects such as property and child custody. Thus, this difference is not such except in the more generic concept in which the term separation is used.