North Carolina requires spouses to live separate and apart for one year before they can be granted a divorce. Living in separate rooms in the same house does not qualify as living separate and apart. You and your spouse will need to establish separate residences and then wait one year. But this does not mean that progress cannot be made during this year, as the legal issues between you and your spouse, including property division, alimony, child custody, and child support, can be resolved by agreement prior to divorce. In fact, you can work out an agreement addressing all these legal issues as soon as one of you moves out of the marital home.