Editing Legal separation (section)

===United States===
In the [[United States|United States of America]], a legal separation may address the division of assets, division of debts, child custody, child support, and alimony. A separate maintenance agreement is not a legal separation and therefore child support and custody are typically not allowed to be addressed. A separate maintenance agreement is often confused with a legal separation which is filed with a court. Separate maintenance agreements are contracts between spouses and not approved by a court.  They are similar to prenuptial agreements.<ref>{{cite web |title=Understanding Legal Separation |url=http://www.womansdivorce.com/legal-separation.html |publisher=womansdivorce.com |access-date=April 3, 2009}}</ref>

Under the law of some states, a separation can occur by judicial decree,<ref name=Decree>See, ''e.g.'', N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 200, found at [http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$DOM200$$@TXDOM0200+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=58777649+&TARGET=VIEW New York State Assembly website], accessed March 17, 2014.</ref> or by an acknowledged ("[[Notary|notarized]]") agreement of the parties.<ref>See, ''e.g.'', N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 170 (5), (6), found at [http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$DOM170$$@TXDOM0170+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=58777649+&TARGET=VIEW New York State Assembly website], accessed March 17, 2014.</ref>  In some states, there must be grounds or a [[cause of action]] to get a judicial decree of separation, such as "cruel and inhuman treatment ... abandonment ... neglect or refusal [to] support ... adultery by the defendant, [or] confinement of the defendant in prison ...."<ref name=Decree /> [[Reconciliation (family law)|Reconciliation]] is allowed. So, therefore, separation is revocable; state laws may require "the joint application of the parties, accompanied  with [[Preponderance of evidence|satisfactory evidence]] of their reconciliation ... by the court which rendered it, subject to such regulations and restrictions as the court thinks fit to impose."<ref>See, ''e.g.'', N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 203, found at [http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$DOM203$$@TXDOM0203+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=EXPLORER+&TOKEN=58777649+&TARGET=VIEW New York State Assembly website], accessed March 17, 2014.</ref>