Separation and the Law: Difference between revisions

Now, to be fair, what people often mean by "legal separation" is a ''separation agreement''. This is something else altogether. A separation agreement is a contract that a couple use to record their agreement about things like how the children will be cared for, how their property will be shared, how child support and spousal support will be paid, if they're to be paid at all, and usually has nothing at all do with whether a couple have separated or not. Separation agreements are not always necessary, and you can't be forced to sign a separation agreement. See the [[Separation Agreements]] page for more information about separation agreements.

Under the old ''[[Family Relations Act]]'', married spouses rarely argued about when they separated. The issues was sometimes important for unmarried spouses because their ability to ask for spousal support depended on whether they started a court proceeding within one year of the date of separation.