Separation. What now?

Separation actually takes place when the couple no longer coexists as husband and wife, and precedes legal or extrajudicial separation or divorce. However, it does not constitute a new type of marital status. According to Brazilian Law, for the characterization of a separation, and its legal consequences, it is not enough to have just left home. There must be publicity that the couple is no longer a couple, they no longer have a married life. There is no specific legal rule on situations arising from separation, but it is possible to find a vast jurisprudence and understandings of higher courts in this regard. Among the consequences arising from separation, there are those related to the property regime. Thus, except in the separation of property regime, the communication of the couple's property must cease with the end of their life in common. In the sphere of inheritance law, the surviving spouse is only recognized as heir if, at the time of the death of the other, they are cohabiting. In other words: with the de facto separation for more than 2 years, the quality of heir is already lost, not requiring an effective divorce.