By leaf mold, I mean the thick, many year, accumulation of leafs, naturally degraded. At top you have mostly whole leaves, grading down to near humus on the bottom.

Assuming the separation is fairly coarse, say with a rake, how close to to compost is it? Are there insect/disease issues due to lower temerature activity? What else should I know?

J

Compost is technically the decomposition of greens (nitrogen sources) and browns (carbon sources) via the digestion of aerobic microbes. Leaf mold is not really the same thing, it is almost all browns!

You can use leaf mold or compost for soil building for topsoil, or as a "potting mix" in container gardening. However nothing is better than real homemade compost.

Leaf mold is safe is use after all the browns have broken down to such a level that is mostly homogeneous to the eyes.

Happy Gardening!