A legal separation is a written agreement, signed and acknowledged by both parties. The separation agreement ("separation decree") must address all of the issues of the marriage, including child custody, child visitation, child support and property and debt division, which must be resolved before it is finalized. The separation agreement should be filed in Supreme Court for a period of one year in order to be "converted" to an Uncontested Divorce. The legal separation may serve as grounds for divorce where no other grounds apply to the parties' circumstances. In order for the legal separation to be converted to an Uncontested Divorce the parties' must have lived apart for one year and most of the terms must be complied with. Either party may commence the Uncontested Divorce where there is a legal separation.

A legal separation may also be obtained by a separation judgment. A separation judgment may be obtained in the same manner as an Uncontested Divorce by commencing a proceeding in Supreme Court. The grounds for divorce may also be used as grounds for a separation judgment, except the grounds of abandonment does not require that the parties live apart for one year they could have lived apart for less than one year.

Because all of the issues must be resolved before a separation agreement is considered valid, it is strongly advised that each party is represented by an experienced attorney. As in a Contested Divorce resolving the more contentious issues can be extensive and challenging.

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