Arkansas Legal Separation Agreement
Arkansas has no legal-separation decree by that name. It offers a divorce from bed and board and a separate maintenance action, both of which keep the couple married. Attorney review available.
Find out where you stand in Arkansas
What are you trying to arrange while staying married?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Introduction
Arkansas does not offer a court order called a legal separation, so a married couple that wants to formalize living apart without divorcing uses one of three Arkansas paths instead. The first is a divorce from bed and board, an older form of limited divorce: Arkansas gives the circuit court power to dissolve and set aside a marriage contract not only from bed and board, but from the bonds of matrimony, for the statutory causes (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)). A divorce from bed and board separates the parties and can address support and custody, but it does not dissolve the marriage, so the couple stays legally married and neither may remarry. The second is a separate maintenance action, an equity remedy in which a spouse who is living apart without fault asks the court to order support; Arkansas acknowledges this action and the power to award maintenance (Ark. Code 9-12-309), but a separate maintenance case does not divide marital property. The third, and the one most couples actually sign, is a private written separation agreement in which the spouses settle support, debts, property, and parenting by contract while they remain married. Arkansas requires residence by either party for sixty days before an action is commenced and three full months before a final decree, and no divorce decree issues until at least thirty days after the complaint is filed (Ark. Code 9-12-307). Because the property and support terms are the same ones used in a divorce, they belong in an Arkansas Marital Settlement Agreement; if you decide to end the marriage, an 18-month separation is itself a ground for absolute divorce, and the pleading that starts it is an Arkansas Divorce Petition. DocDraft builds your Arkansas separation agreement from your facts, with attorney review available before you sign.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Arkansas does not have a court order called a legal separation. The Arkansas vehicles are a divorce from bed and board (a limited divorce), a separate maintenance action for support, and a private written separation agreement, none of which by name is a legal separation decree.
- 2
A divorce from bed and board is a limited divorce: the circuit court can dissolve a marriage not only from bed and board but from the bonds of matrimony for the statutory causes (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)). A bed-and-board decree separates the parties but does not dissolve the marriage, so neither may remarry.
- 3
A separate maintenance action is an equity remedy in which a spouse living apart without fault asks the court to order support; Arkansas acknowledges the action and the power to award maintenance (Ark. Code 9-12-309). It does not divide marital property.
- 4
Most Arkansas couples who want to stay married but live apart sign a private written separation agreement, a contract settling support, debts, property, and parenting while the marriage continues.
- 5
Arkansas requires residence by either party for sixty days before an action is commenced and three full months before a final decree, and no divorce decree issues until at least thirty days after the complaint is filed (Ark. Code 9-12-307).
- 6
Living apart under an Arkansas separation agreement can lead to a divorce: after the couple has lived separate and apart for eighteen continuous months, either party may obtain an absolute decree of divorce (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)).
- 7
Couples choose to separate rather than divorce in Arkansas to keep a spouse on health insurance, to reach the ten-year mark for certain military and Social Security spousal benefits, or for religious reasons.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Legal Separation Agreement in Arkansas, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Legal Separation Agreement guide walks through them.
Open the Legal Separation Agreement guideCustomize your Legal Separation Agreement Template with DocDraft
Arkansas Requirements for Legal Separation Agreement
Arkansas has no court order called a legal separation. The couple stays married and uses a divorce from bed and board, a separate maintenance action, or a private written separation agreement instead. None of these dissolves the marriage, so neither spouse may remarry.
The circuit court has power to dissolve a marriage not only from bed and board, but from the bonds of matrimony, for the statutory causes (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)). A bed-and-board decree separates the parties and can address support and custody but does not dissolve the marriage.
A spouse living apart without fault may ask the court to order support through a separate maintenance action; Arkansas acknowledges the action and the power to award maintenance (Ark. Code 9-12-309). A separate maintenance case does not divide marital property.
Most couples who want to stay married but live apart sign a private written separation agreement, a contract settling support, debts, property, and parenting while the marriage continues. It fixes rights between the spouses without a court decree changing marital status.
For a court action, Arkansas requires residence by either party for sixty days before commencement and three full months before the final decree, and no decree issues until at least thirty days after the complaint is filed (Ark. Code 9-12-307).
After the parties have lived separate and apart for eighteen continuous months without cohabitation, either party may obtain an absolute decree of divorce (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)). A separation agreement or bed-and-board decree does not block a later absolute divorce.
Arkansas divides marital property, generally one-half to each party unless the court finds that inequitable. Because a separate maintenance action does not divide property, settle property and debts in an Arkansas marital settlement agreement rather than in the separation itself.
Staying married but living apart can preserve a spouse's health insurance, help reach the ten-year mark for certain military and Social Security benefits, or serve religious reasons. Confirm insurance effects with the plan, since many treat a separation like a divorce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Arkansas does not use a court order called a legal separation. A couple that wants to live apart while staying married uses one of three tools: a divorce from bed and board, which is a limited divorce that does not dissolve the marriage (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)); a separate maintenance action, in which the court orders support while the couple remains married (Ark. Code 9-12-309); or a private written separation agreement that settles their affairs by contract. In each, the spouses remain legally married and neither may remarry.
Not by that name. Arkansas has no statute for a legal separation decree. Instead, Arkansas law authorizes a divorce from bed and board, a limited divorce that separates the parties without dissolving the marriage (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)), and recognizes a separate maintenance action for support during a separation (Ark. Code 9-12-309). Couples also commonly sign a private separation agreement. So the outcome that other states call legal separation is available in Arkansas, but through these vehicles rather than a single decree.
A divorce from bed and board (a mensa et thoro) is an older form of limited divorce. Arkansas gives the circuit court power to dissolve a marriage not only from bed and board, but from the bonds of matrimony, for the statutory causes (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)). A bed-and-board decree legally separates the spouses and can address support and custody, but it does not dissolve the marriage, so both people remain married and neither can remarry until an absolute divorce is granted.
Separate maintenance is an Arkansas equity remedy in which a spouse who is living apart without fault asks the court to order the other spouse to pay support. Arkansas acknowledges the action and the court's power to award maintenance (Ark. Code 9-12-309). It addresses support while the couple stays married, but it does not divide marital property. A separate maintenance order therefore fixes support without changing marital status and without splitting the couple's assets.
An Arkansas absolute divorce ends the marriage, so both people are single again and free to remarry. A divorce from bed and board, a separate maintenance order, or a private separation agreement keeps the marriage in place: the couple lives apart and can settle support and, by agreement, property, but they stay married and neither may remarry. The absolute divorce severs the bonds of matrimony, while the separation vehicles do not (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)).
Yes. Living apart is itself a route to an absolute divorce in Arkansas. After a husband and wife have lived separate and apart for eighteen continuous months without cohabitation, the court shall grant an absolute decree of divorce at the suit of either party (Ark. Code 9-12-301(b)). A divorce from bed and board or a separation agreement does not block that step; a spouse who decides to end the marriage files for an absolute divorce.
For the court actions, yes. Arkansas requires residence in the state by either the plaintiff or the defendant for sixty days before the action is commenced and three full months before the final decree, and no decree issues until at least thirty days after the complaint is filed (Ark. Code 9-12-307). A purely private separation agreement is a contract and does not require a court filing, though the underlying divorce or maintenance action would.
People stay married but live apart for practical or personal reasons. Staying married can keep one spouse on the other's health insurance, though many plans treat a separation like a divorce, so confirm with the insurer. Reaching ten years of marriage can matter for certain military and Social Security spousal benefits. Some couples separate for religious reasons, and others use it as a step before deciding whether to file for an absolute divorce in Arkansas.