Summary of Virginia Separation Law

In Virginia, courts do not grant legal separations. Couples may, however, separate through a written agreement that spells out the terms of their separation (often called a “marital settlement agreement” or a “separation agreement”). Or a court may issue a temporary court order (called a “pendente lite” order) to determine the rights and responsibilities of spouses while a divorce is pending.

Although Virginia courts do not grant legal separations, it is a requirement for a no-fault divorce that a divorcing couple demonstrate that they've lived apart, both continuously and intentionally, for a period of at least one year (except where there are no minor children involved and the spouses have entered into a property settlement agreement, in which case the required period of separation is six months).

A limited divorce (also known as a “Divorce a Mensa” or a “Divorce from Bed and Board”) is the equivalent in many ways of a divorce, with a couple of exceptions: it does not break the bonds of matrimony and it generally does not deal with property rights between the spouses without other agreement or another court order,