What is it?

Separation Agreement is a legal written contract negotiated between the two parties which will set out the future duties and rights of each party to one another. The document is signed by both spouses. This method of separation allows both parties to negotiate their differences out of Court and in an amicable manner. A separation agreement is a legally binding written contract between a husband and wife setting out their future rights and duties. Such an agreement is also known as a Deed of Separation. The agreement will include a number of terms, including:

• an agreement to live apart and not to disturb or interfere with each other;
• arrangements about responsibility for, and care of, the dependent children, including,
• necessary, the level of contact that each spouse will have with the children;
• the amount of maintenance to be paid for the support of the dependent spouse and children and how and when the maintenance is to be paid;
• arrangements as to who will own and who will live in the family home;
• arrangements as to who will own any other property;
• arrangements as to who will pay any mortgage(s); and
• arrangements as to succession and inheritance.

This may include an agreement to renounce each others rights to a “legal right share” of the other spouse’s estate upon their death. As trustees of a pension scheme are not obliged to honour a term in a separation agreement that varies pension rights, it is necessary to get a court order in order to secure any pension entitlements when separating. Social welfare pensions are not affected by the terms of a separation agreement.