judicial separation

American  

noun

Law.

1. a decree of legal separation of spouses that does not dissolve the marriage bond.

---

judicial separation British  

noun

1. family law a court decree requiring a man and wife to cease cohabiting but not dissolving the marriage See also a mensa et thoro Compare divorce

---

Example Sentences

When a judicial separation has lasted three years the judgment can be changed into a decree of divorce upon the application of either party.

From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Ringrose, Hyacinthe

More than one Commission had reported in favour of establishing a separate court, so that the dissolution of marriage might be effected by judicial separation instead of a special Act of Parliament. 

From The Real Gladstone an Anecdotal Biography by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)

It's no use to either of us, mother, to get what is called judicial separation.

From Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume II. by Lever, Charles James

Divorce.—A divorce in Spain only amounts to what in other countries is called a judicial separation.

From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Ringrose, Hyacinthe

It is an absolute bar to a suit for judicial separation that the petitioner has committed adultery since the marriage.

From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Ringrose, Hyacinthe