The couple's tumultuous marriage appears to be coming to an end. Houston filed papers in Orange County Superior Court on Friday requesting a legal separation from Brown because of irreconcilable differences.
Houston's publicist, Nancy Seltzer, said the Grammy-winning singer would have no comment on the action.
"It is a legal separation. It is not a divorce or a divorce petition," said Phaedra Parks, an entertainment lawyer in Atlanta who represents Brown.
Houston, 43, asked that she be granted custody of the couple's 13-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, and that Brown, 37, be allowed visitation rights. She asked that property rights be determined later.