The power of a legal separation in the state of California affords the court the ability to separate just about everything in a marriage except the marriage bond itself. This separation can include finances, assets, debt, child support, custody and everything else that would otherwise be decided in a formal divorce. However, the husband and wife affected still technically remain married after the proceeding is finalized. A legal separation provides a quick ability to separate one's legal affairs, but it is not intended to serve a permanent status. Ultimately the spouses must finalize through divorce or get back to being married again.

Differences From Divorce
• As mentioned above, a California legal separation does not equate a legal divorce in full dissolution of a marriage. Another difference involves how a separation occurs; both affected spouses must agree to the legal separation whereas divorce can be forced by one party on another. The time of the process involved remains different as well; a legal separation can occur quickly while a divorce proceeding can take years to move through the courts. Finally, after a divorce the spouses are legal individuals again and can remarry to someone else. With a legal separation the spouses are still married and marrying someone else will result in a bigamy violation in most jurisdictions.

Not Intended to be a Permanent Status
• Spouses should not consider legal separation as a trial run of divorce. Without agreement of the parties, the process in California automatically turns into a divorce proceeding legally. Tactics that try to use separation as a way to scare the other partner into reconciliation typically force a divorce as well. The process best serves those who feel a need to separate all legal issues immediately except the marriage. This could be in the case of medical coverage or insurance where marriage allows a spouse to still receive care that would otherwise be cut off in a divorce.

Protection From Debt
• A legal separation will not automatically protect a partner from the debt of another if it's incurred while separated. When the spouses reconcile again, the new debt will become a community property interest shared by both equally. If a person is worried about assuming such new liabilities but wants to save a marriage, then he should insist on a legal agreement keeping such debt separate once the marriage is stabilized again.

Fees and Charges
• Like many legal proceedings, a legal separation has expenses associated with it as well. However, because a separation can be obtained so quickly, the overall cost is far less than a divorce proceeding. The assistance of an attorney runs $250/hour on average. Additionally, the document filing fees in California court will cost in the neighborhood of $300 per filing. These expenses are the very minimum to expect but cost much less than divorce. However, additional documents, motions, filings, and attorney work can add expenses quickly.