Separation Agreement Lawyers North Wales & Cheshire

What should a Separation Agreement include? 

A Separation Agreement should include some information around your relationship, including:

• Your names
• How long you have lived together
• Details of any children you may have

To ensure that the courts take your Separation Agreement into consideration, it is also important to state your reasons for drafting it. You should adhere to the following principles:

1. You are not being forced into the agreement. You need to make it clear that it is your choice to enter the agreement, and there is no pressure from your partner to do so.
2. Both partners need to be transparent with their finances, assets and responsibilities.
3. The agreement drafted is final. Both partners agree that no further claims can be made after the document has been agreed.

You could also include clauses to ensure any changes in circumstances are taken into account. For example, you may want to make arrangements in case of the death of either party, what happens if the agreement isn’t adhered to or if one partner has a change in income.

The other contents of a Separation Agreement depends on your specific situation. However, in general, there are three primary issues which aim to be resolved.

Children

If you have children, it is natural to worry about how your separation will affect them. Factors that you need to consider include:

• Who will the children live with?
• How often will they see the other parent?
• Who will pay maintenance to support your children and how often will these payments be made?
• Who will receive any benefits that you receive for your children?
• How will you handle any half-term holidays and other special days, such as Christmas?
• How will you deal with one-off payments, such as school trips?

The aim of this section is to ensure that both parents still maintain a strong relationship with their children. It is recommended that you have a parenting plan alongside this, to ensure that you plan out the parental responsibility in detail, to hold each other accountable. Our specialised Separation Agreement Solicitors can help with this, including what to include and how to go about drafting it.

Finances

Following your separation, you may be concerned about how your finances will change. The agreement should cover:

• Financial assets: This includes actual and potential assets, such as furniture, jewellery, and cars. It may be that one party pays the other to ensure that they have sole ownership of an asset. You will not be eligible for a share of your partner’s pension if you are not married.
• Joint accounts and debts: It is best to decide between you and your partner how you are going to share finances in any joint account. It may be shared equally, or you may agree that one partner should have more than the other. When it comes to joint debts, by law, you have an equal responsibility to pay these off. This means that if one partner stopped paying after you separate, you would still be liable for the entire debt-not just half of it. If one partner is in a more favourable financial position, you may agree that they should pay for more of the debt than the other.
• Savings and investments: You should decide between you and your partner how you are going to split any savings and investments. It may be that these will be split 50:50 or you may decide that they shouldn’t be shared at all.
• Any lump sum payments: If you decide that one partner will pay a lump sum, you will need to clearly state the amount, deadline and that this will be the final payment.

We can help you be transparent about how your finances will be divided, to prevent future disputes occurring. If you would like to make a Separation Agreement, get in touch today and we can help draft it precisely and swiftly.

Property

This is one of the most important considerations when you separate, as it is more than likely to be your most valuable asset. There are several options, such as:

• Selling the property. You may agree that it is best to put the property on the market and share the profits as per the agreement. You can also agree on how the expenses associated with selling the property will be split.
• One partner may keep the property. One partner may pay the other party out so that they get to keep the property.
• You may decide to both live in the property. Whilst this is more rare, it may be more viable to remain in the same house whilst separated, but live separate lives.

There are other alternatives, for example, you may choose to share the property and stay with friends or family whilst the other party is occupying the house or flat. Equally, you may agree to a chargeback, where one partner takes on the mortgage alone and stays in the property, allowing the other party to take out another mortgage and places a charge on the former couple's home to reflect their share of the equity. Whatever your situation, it is better to have a written agreement to ensure that both parties understand their commitments.

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What happens if I separate whilst living in the same house? 

You can still make a Separation Agreement if you are living in the same house. However, by law, couples who are separated are required to ‘maintain separate households’. In essence, this means that your lives must not be interlinked, even though you are in the same property. To show that you are leading separate lives, you must not:

• Share a bedroom
• Do joint shopping trips
• Cook for your ex-partner
• Eat meals together
• Wash each others clothes
• Go out together

This is important, as if you do divorce following a Separation Agreement, the courts will need proof that you are fully separated, and that you are maintaining different households.

Why would I want to draft a Separation Agreement? 

​​​​​There are two main situations where a Separation Agreement would be necessary. These include couples who are married and want to separate but don’t want to divorce (just yet, at least), and unmarried couples who are separating.

It may be that you want to still be married but live different individual lives. This could be for appearances, business, cultural or religious reasons. This agreement can make sure that the separation can be as amiable as possible, so that the transition can be smooth.

Separation of Married Couples 

You may decide to separate but not go through with divorce proceedings. In which case, a Separation Agreement can help you to identify each partner's responsibility, from children, to property, finances and other personal interests.

Our experienced team of solicitors can help you to draft terms which are unique to you, to ensure that you are both protected. We can also advise on any clauses to add in case of divorce, and how best to ensure that the agreement will hold up in court if there are any future disputes. We will take time to talk to both partners, to ensure that it is a mutual agreement and both parties are happy with the result.

Separation of unmarried couples

For couples who get separated and aren’t married, it is really important to have some form of agreement to help manage finances, assets and responsibilities post break-up.

Couples who live together but aren’t married are known as cohabiting couples in legal terms, and they do not have the same legal rights or obligations as those who are married or in civil partnerships. This makes a Separation Agreement even more important, to clearly set out future arrangements, which is especially significant when there are children involved.

It can still be useful even when you make a verbal agreement between yourselves, to avoid future issues from arising. At PSR Solicitors, we can help you draft a fair agreement, placing emphasis on factors which are specific to your situation.

Should I get a divorce or make a Separation Agreement? 

A divorce will legally end a marriage, enabling you to cut ties and remarry if you choose to. However, a Separation Agreement will not do this. Instead, it will set out what will happen in terms of finances, property and parental responsibilities following your separation.

It may not make sense for a couple to file for a divorce straight away. There are various reasons for this including the financial burden it carries or wanting to wait for 2 years of separation before proceeding. It could also be because a property has fallen into negative equity, so it doesn’t make financial sense to sell the assets immediately.

Even though you may not want a divorce yet and are still living together, it is still vital to have some kind of agreement to know who is going to pay for what bills and what life will look like post-divorce. A Separation Agreement can act as an in-between and can be referred to when drafting your final divorce financial settlement.

Can my partner dispute the Separation Agreement? 

A separation agreement is not legally binding. However, this does not mean that it can be ignored. If you have both signed and mutually agreed on the terms set out, it can be used by the Courts and will most likely be upheld by the Judiciary.

There are numerous reasons why your partner may dispute the Separation Agreement. The most common of these is that they believe that their partner was being dishonest about their finances or assets from the beginning.

If you wish to contest the agreement at a later date, it will most likely go to Court where you will have to prove why you should no longer adhere to the Separation Agreement. At PSR Solicitors, we have a thorough understanding of disputes, and can guide you through the process having helped many clients successfully contest Separation Agreements where they felt it was unfair.