A Brooklyn separation agreement attorney can help you to put together a document that reflects all of the major issues associated with choosing to separate from your former partner. A separation agreement is important because it lays out clear boundaries for you and your former spouse going forward related to child support, spousal support, child custody and management of property.
Some divorces begin with a separation. A separation agreement attorney in Brooklyn is necessary to help ensure that your rights have been appropriately protected. This is not like a divorce. When the legal separation ends, the parties remain married legally and cannot remarry unless they divorce. You can file a separation agreement as soon as possible after choosing to separate. This is an official contract that addresses the marital property division, support of the children and visitation and child custody. This courts will enforce the agreement if one party does abide by the agreement.
These separation agreement details may also become more long term if the parties choose to get a divorce. A separation agreement contract with all of the details prepared by lawyers. The spouses consent will to live separately and it will usually stipulate the associated information. Your lawyer should be interested in doing everything possible to protect your rights in a separation agreement and even if the document is drafted by the other party's attorneys, your lawyer should be going through it with a fine-toothed comb to verify that it does not damage you significantly.
The memorandum of separation as it is known goes to the New York county clerk where either spouse resides. Either spouse can file for a divorce a year after the separation agreement is filed. Separation is when the husband and wife no longer reside in the same residence. The document explaining the terms of the separation is called a separation agreement. The legal date of separation is when hen the document is signed by the spouses and notarized. If the spouses follow the terms of the agreement, either can ask for a divorce when the year ends. This is a binding contract that is used to address debt, child related and property related issues. All these issues must be addressed in full in order to get a divorce, but if you intend to separate first they should also be covered in detail for the sake of clarity going forward.
It is a very detailed and complex document and one that requires the insight of an attorney. When a legal separation complaint is filed, the spouse will receive a summons that includes the birth dates and full names of the plaintiff and the defendant as well as information about any minor children. The summons will also include the reason for the separation and a statement associated with residency. Legal separation grounds include a judgement of separation that is granted by the Supreme Court for the state of New York, adultery, one of the spouses serving a prison term of three or more years, failing to support a wife, abandonment, and cruel and inhumane treatment. One year after the judgement of separation, the parties can sue for a no-fault divorce.
Make sure your lawyer knows all the issues that should be addressed in separation agreements or in court orders designed to handle the end of the divorce. Separation agreements can reduce your chances for winding up in the courts battling it out over relationship associated issues that have to be put in writing when separating.