Legal Separation

Legal separation really isn't a thing under Iowa law. Usually when someone asks for legal separation, he or she means one of two things: what happens while the divorce is pending, or to have separate lives without really getting divorced.

The first category of people want to tell others that they are not married and will be divorced soon, so the easy way to describe this is separated. And I agree with this characterization; you are separated from your spouse. But you are not legally separated. Legally speaking, when a divorce is pending but not finalized yet, the couple is still married. 

The second category of people do not want to actually be divorced, but do not want to be married anymore. The couple will still be married, but everything else will be as if the couple is divorced. A Decree of Separate Maintenance can have a division of property (Iowa Code 598.21), spousal support (598.21A), and child support (598.21B). So an action for separate maintenance divides marital assets like a divorce has occurred, and provides for determination of support, but the couple remains legally married. 

Why would someone want this type of action? Sometimes people do not want to be divorced for religious reasons. Sometimes one party has a medical condition, and will lose health insurance coverage if he or she is no longer married to the primary insured. Sometimes people are hopeful that the marriage will work after all, and want to keep the bonds of matrimony in place. But generally speaking, an action for separate maintenance is just as expensive and as long of a process as a divorce, and therefore it will not meet the needs of most couples who are splitting up.