Separation Agreement Topics

Here is a list of typical matters which are covered in a Separation Agreement:

Child Custody issues such as:

• What the custody schedule for the children will be
• Which parent has decision-making authority or is this a shared responsibility
• How the parents will resolve conflicts regarding the children
• How the parties will divide the holidays and summer vacations
• What residence will be used for school-assignment purposes
• What types of activities are appropriate or inappropriate for the parties to involve the children in
• Provisions providing for the parties to encourage loving and caring relationships between the children and the parents
• Whether “overnight guests” are permitted or prohibited when the children are present
• Whether the parties must attend mediation or arbitration prior to filing a claim to modify the child custody schedule and agreement

Child Support issues such as:

• Which parent pays child support
• When the child support begins and what day of the month child support is due
• How many years child support will be owed
• If child support is for more than one child, whether the amount is allocated on a per-child basis or as a lump sum for all the children
• Who pays or provides medical or dental insurance for the children
• How the parties divide medical, dental and extracurricular expenses for the children
• What factors or situations would permit the child support to be modified, increased, decreased or terminated
• Whether the parties would review the child support amount every year, every few years or never
• Which parent is permitted to claim the child as a dependent for income tax purposes
• How the parents plan to allocate college expenses, if at all

Alimony issues such as:

• Are the parties going to waive alimony
• If alimony is not waived, which spouse is going to receive alimony
• How much alimony is going to be paid and when is the alimony due
• When is alimony going to end, also known as the duration of the alimony
• What factors would allow alimony to be modified or terminated
• Would alimony cease or be suspended if the person paying alimony becomes unemployed
• Whether alimony will be modified if the person receiving alimony becomes employed
• Whether the parties are going to review the alimony amount every year, every few years or never
• Whether the remarriage or cohabitation of the spouse would affect the alimony and duration of the alimony
• Whether the alimony is going to be paid on a monthly basis, in a lump sum or with the allocation of an asset, such as a residence

Equitable Distribution or Property Division issues such as:

• How the spouses are going to divide the marital debts such as credit card debts, store credit cards, mortgage payments, income and property taxes, automobile payments, medical bills, and business debts
• How the spouses are going to divide the marital assets such as automobiles, personal property, furniture, jewelry, retirement accounts, bank accounts, income tax refunds, pension plans, marital residence, vacation homes, business interests such as closely-held corporations and companies, valuable collectibles such as paintings, furniture, coin collections
• What remedies are available if one of the parties does not hold up their end of the bargain
• Whether one of the parties is going to remain in the marital residence
• If the parties own a house, whether the house is going to be refinanced, sold or transferred to the other spouse
• How the parties are going to divide retirement and investment accounts
• What occurs if the parties enter into a Separation Agreement and then reconcile later

Before entering into any Separation Agreement remember that if the Separation Agreement is executed properly it will be a legal, binding and enforceable contract. The law regarding contracts is significantly different from the law regarding court orders. It is much more difficult, and sometimes impossible, to modify the terms of a Separation Agreement that you are no longer able to comply with or which you want to modify because circumstances have changed.  This is why it is extremely important to have an experienced lawyer review your Separation Agreement before it is signed.

Written By: John McNeil