One-Year Separation Requirement
There is no filing requirement to begin the one-year separation period. The parties are legally separated when husband and wife begin living apart and at least one of the parties intends for them to remain separated. The parties must be physically separated (i.e., living in separate residences) to be considered legally separated, but living apart is not the sole factor in determining whether a husband and wife are separated. A couple who resumes the marital relationship, or who continues to hold themselves out as husband and wife, may negate the intent to remain separated. Because the one-year separation must be continuous, such an interruption would require the period to restart. However, pursuant to the North Carolina divorce statute, N.C.G.S. § 50-6, “[i]solated incidents of sexual intercourse between the parties shall not toll the statutory period required for divorce predicated on separation of one year.”