subject: Is A Legal Separation Agreement Seen As A Divorce Paper? [print this page] The law on separation and dissolution is contained in the UK Family Law Act 1996, which comes under the justice system of the United Kingdom.
Separation or Divorce
Separation is different from a divorce, but may form a part of the divorce proceedings. Judicial Separation in a relationship only means that you and your partner have agreed to live apart. If this is what you have both agreed to do and if you have decided on settling your affairs under this arrangement, then you can make a separation agreement or a Deed of Separation to write down the details with regards to post-separation. This may include property, assets, children, care, maintenance, etc. The Separation Agreement may also be relied on if the case goes through to divorce proceedings.
Divorce proceedings or proceedings for the dissolution of a marriage or civil union can be done in a similar way with the Court by filing a divorce petition. In order for a divorce too go through, you will need to prove to the Court that the relationship has broken down irrevocably. Under certain circumstances, in order to prove to the Court that your relationship has ended and needs to be dissolved, you and your partner must live apart for two years.
In both situations, you will need to formally sign a written agreement that should include the details of the divorce or separation, as the case may be, and all details with regards to the division of assets, custody of or connection with children, and other matters of the estate.
Divorce and Separation Agreements
If a couple is not in a hurry to dissolve their marriage, and only wishes to separate and record the financial agreement that they have reached between themselves, this can be done in a Deed of Separation, which is often times referred to as a "formal separation". In fact, no formal requirements exist in UK Law to record a decision to separate, even for the purposes of the Inland Revenue. It, however, provides the couple with a degree of protection if the decision to separate come with certain financial and care agreements.
In order to get a dissolution of marriage or a divorce ruling, either of you may apply to the court in England and Wales for the marriage to be dissolved, with the condition being that you and your spouse have been married for at least one year and that any one of you has been a resident here for at least one year before the application is made. This application to the court is called a Petition, the one who files the Petition is called the Petitioner, and the other spouse is then called the Respondent.
Net Lawman UK can help you with professionally drafted Separation Agreements, Marriage Settlement Agreements, and Pre-nuptial Agreements for your situation and makes it easy for you to get through the troubled waters of family separations and division of estate, property, and assets.
