What is the difference between legal separation and divorce in Arizona?

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The core difference: a decree of legal separation does not end the marriage — the parties remain husband and wife — while a decree of dissolution (divorce) terminates the marriage . In almost every other respect the two proceedings do the same work: in either one, the court enters orders on legal decision-making and parenting time, child support, spousal maintenance, and the disposition of the parties' property .

What happens to the marriage afterward
- After a legal separation, the parties may stipulate at any time to terminate the decree and restore their status to legally married, with the marital community re-formed as if they had married on the date the termination order is entered . Property acquired and debts incurred during the separation remain the acquiring or incurring party's sole and separate property or debt, and the parenting and support provisions of the separation decree no longer apply .
- Alternatively, either party may file a petition for dissolution under the same case number, which proceeds as a new and separate action with service of process . The property dispositions made in the legal separation decree generally may not be revoked or modified in the later dissolution unless grounds exist to reopen a judgment .
- A decree of dissolution, by contrast, dissolves the marriage and is final when entered, subject to appeal; either party may remarry even pending an appeal that does not challenge the finding that the marriage is irretrievably broken .
- Because a legally separated spouse is still married, a decree of separation "is not a divorce," and a separated spouse retains surviving-spouse status for probate purposes, whereas a divorced former spouse does not .

The grounds differ
- Dissolution requires a finding that the marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation .
- Legal separation requires only that the marriage be irretrievably broken or that one or both parties desire to live separate and apart .
- A legal separation additionally requires that the other party not object; if the other party objects, the court must direct that the pleadings be amended to seek a dissolution .
- If the marriage is a covenant marriage, a legal separation requires proof of one of the specific grounds prescribed in section 25-904, and a dissolution requires one of the grounds prescribed in section 25-903 .

Residency requirements differ
- For dissolution, one party must have been domiciled in Arizona (or stationed here in the armed services) and have maintained that domicile or military presence for ninety days before filing .
- For legal separation, it is enough that one party was domiciled or stationed in Arizona when the action was commenced; the statute imposes no comparable waiting period .

A licensed Arizona family-law attorney can advise which proceeding best fits your circumstances.