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New York State offers legal separation and divorce options for individuals considering ending their marriage. Legal separation involves a court-ordered agreement separating spouses, while divorce dissolves the marriage and involves property, custody, and support division. Separation is more common due to religious or cultural objections, retaining health insurance benefits, military or pension benefits, trial separation before divorce, and uncertainty about divorce. Divorce is more common due to permanent end to marriage, clarity on property and custody, freedom to remarry, emotional closure, and irreconcilable differences. The process involves consulting an attorney, filing a petition, serving the spouse, negotiating or litigating terms, and court approval. The timeline for legal separation is 1-3 months, while uncontested divorce takes 3-6 months and New York State No Fault Divorce takes 6-18 months or more.