A Separation Agreement is a written agreement that formally sets out the financial arrangements in place while you and your partner are separated. They can even provide for who in the future applies for a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. The agreement can cover the following issues that typically arise upon separation:
- Who will pay the mortgage or rent and household bills.
- Who will continue to live in the family home and/or what happens if it’s sold.
- What is to happen to any debts, such as loans or overdrafts.
- How you intend to share or distribute any savings, investments and other financial assets held between you.
- What you intend to do with any items such as cars or furniture, especially those bought jointly.
- Whether maintenance is paid to support one of you and/or any children.
- Childcare arrangements: who the child or children will live with and what the contact arrangements will then be for the non-resident parent.
For those couples who are planning to make their separation permanent at some time and point in the future when perhaps the criteria are met, the separation agreement would ideally set out the criteria for when the separation will be made more permanent, acting as the final financial agreement that will be presented to the court when the divorce or dissolution finally goes through.