A physical separation of spouses is not a “legal separation” regardless of how long it has been since the parties have lived together. A “legal separation” occurs through a court proceeding that is almost identical to a divorce proceeding. There are two main differences between a legal separation and a divorce.
1) Residency requirements: To file an action for legal separation, you only need to be a resident of the state of Wisconsin (and of the county you file in) for 30 days. To bring an action for divorce, you must be a resident of the county you file in for at least 30 days AND a resident of the state of Wisconsin for at least 6 months.
2) A legal separation does not dissolve or terminate the marriage, and therefore, neither party can remarry if their previous marriage ended only with a Judgment of Legal Separation and not a Judgment of Divorce. However, the parties can agree to convert the legal separation to a divorce after the