Judicial Separation

This is an application to the court in virtually the same form of a divorce. The grounds for applying are the same as for a divorce. You do remain married however.

It was intended for particularly members of the Roman Catholic Church who needed to use the powers of the court to deal with either for instance domestic violence or financial matters but could not contemplate a divorce because of their religious beliefs.

The benefit is that it can be brought within 12 months of marriage.

The drawback is that if you are subsequently going to become divorced you have to go through the whole process again.

There are certain orders such as pension sharing which cannot be made upon Judicial Separation.