Using Separation Agreements in Divorce

In these days of high divorce rates, so many people would love to keep their marriage together forever. However, when marriages begin to fall apart, divorces can often be extremely messy. There is a way to make a divorce easier to work with, however, and that is with a separation agreement.


A separation agreement is a written legal document that memorializes both the marital and divorce agreements of a couple prior to their divorce. A separation agreement must be signed and notarized to become effective, and must be entered into voluntarily with full disclosure on the part of both parties to actually be enforced.

A contested divorce - a divorce without such an agreement - can costs thousands of dollars- in attorney fees, court costs, and filing fees, and can cause a lot of stress and unnecessary headaches, not to mention the emotional strain it causes on all of the parties involved. By contrast, an uncontested divorce, where both parties have already resolved their differences by agreement, is much less expensive and time-consuming. A separation agreement reduces the cost of divorce by resolving important dissolution issues, such as alimony, child or pet custody and visitation, child support, and property distribution.

There is a bit of confusion between separation agreements and legal separation. In general, a separation agreement is not a legal separation. A legal separation is simply a term given to the status of a married couple. A separation agreement is an enforceable contract between the couple regarding their agreements about the ending of their marriage.

Most places require a physical separation of parties to effect a legal separation, others permit married couples to continue to live together during the separation period - often called "cohabitation." Some states require nothing more than a physical separation of the parties to begin a legal separation, while others require the filing of certain documents with a court to get separation procedures started. Although a separation agreement can be considered to be a legal separation in some instances, the terms are not interchangeable.