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}}Adults separate when they decide that their romantic relationship is over and then take steps to <span class="noglossary">act</span> on that <span class="noglossary">decision</span>. When people in an unmarried relationship separate, their relationship is over and there are no other steps that must be taken to legally end things. When people are married, on the other hand, their relationship isn't legally over until they are divorced, one of them dies, or their marriage is annulled... whichever comes first.
This chapter starts by taking a quick look at separation, annulment and divorce, and talks about a few urban myths about separation and divorce. The following sections look in more detail at the legal aspects of [[Separation Separating and the Law on Separation|separation]] and [[Divorce and the Law on Getting Divorced|divorce]], the [[Separating Emotionally|emotional dimensions of separation]], and issues about [[Good Behaviour and Respecting Privacy After Separation|privacy and good behaviour after separation]]. The do-it-yourself divorce process is reviewed in a fair amount of detail in the [[Divorce and the Law on Getting Divorced]] section at the end of this chapter.
All of the information in this chapter applies just as much to people in same-sex relationships as it does to people in opposite-sex relationships. There is no difference between how the law treats people in same- and opposite-sex relationships in Canada.