Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

Re: separation

"my boyfriend has given his wife a legal separation and she is refusing to leave when can he legally leave."

I'm not sure I know what that means.

There is no such legal concept as "legal separation". They can have a separation agreement or a property settlement agreement that they sign where they agree to separate and not to sue each other for divorce on the grounds of desertion or abandonment. They can settle any financial issue or custody and support issue they want in such an agreement. There are agreements that give possession of the marital residence to one or the other, and by the time the agreement becomes enforceable, the other has left.

If your boyfriend has such a contract with his wife, then he can enforce it in a court of law. If he doesn't, then I need to know exactly what kind of agreement they have and whether the agreeement or court order rerquires her to leave the home.

You question, if I understand it correctly is: since he gave her a legal separation and she wont leave, when can he leave? I assume you mean when can he leave where he wont be accused of desertion. If they have an agreement saying they wont charge each other with a marital fault, then I would say he can leave anytime. If he has cause to divorce her he can leave anytime. If he doesn't mind being accused of desertion, then I suppose he can leave anytime. Since you are his girlfriend, and I assume he's still married, he's already committing adultery with you and that is a marital fault she can divorce him on at any time.

If there is some financial concern about the house that he has, then he needs to hire a lawyer and divorce her so the court can enfore the payment of bills and the division of marital property.

Good luck.

Re: separation

There is no legal status in the Commonwealth of Virginia formally recognized in the law as a "legal separation" therefore, your boyfriend could not have given such to his wife.

Without knowing many more relevant facts that could apply to this situation, there is no way to reliably answer your question.