In most cases, as long as you want. While many couples eventually file for divorce, some remain separated indefinitely. Some remain legally separated until one of the spouses wishes to remarry. Many choose to remain officially married, but to remain separated for financial or personal reasons. Financial reasons may be health, social security or pension benefits or common debts. If you have filed the agreement, the court will enforce the parenting and assisting parties to children and spouses, as if they were court decisions. Mediation usually lasts up to six or seven sessions, but this can vary depending on the complexity. If an agreement is reached, the mediator establishes the terms of the agreement. It is recommended that people have independent legal advice before signing the agreement.
Collaborative practice is a way to resolve family law issues, including separation and divorce. You and your spouse/partner work with collaborative lawyers. Each signs an agreement that your collaborative lawyers refrain from representing you in court if the trial collapses. None of the lawyers can intervene for you in the context of a legal proceeding in dispute. If the children are involved, a separation agreement helps clarify the details of who should have custody, how often the other parent can go, and the need to care for the children. When a spouse has a career raising children, the separation agreement could also address whether a person should receive assistance or support. A legal separation allows you to live separately without divorce or civil partnership breakdown. For couples who opt for mediation, it is advisable to ensure that they receive legal and financial advice prior to mediation so that they can know their rights and make informed decisions.
While a divorce always involves a separation of bodies, separation without dissolution does not always end in divorce. In some cases, a period of separation can actually help a couple to reconcile and continue their marriage. If you do not have a dependent child, you do not need to include your consent in your divorce application. Although New York law now provides for a no-fault divorce, if you or your spouse can prove that you lived separately and separated under a written separation agreement and have complied with the terms of that separation agreement for more than a year, you can obtain a divorce judgment on that basis alone. A faultless divorce requires only an affidavit that the marriage has been irretrievably crushed for six months or more. The separation agreement can also be filed as part of a divorce decision if you or your spouse decides to file for divorce because of disorder, instead of waiting until the year necessary to file for divorce based on the fact that they lived separately and separately as part of a separation agreement.
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