The date of separation is often determined by the date you and your spouse/partner began living separately. Often, this is when you stop living together in the same home. Sometimes, however, it is not possible to have separate homes and you continue to live together under the same roof. If this happens the date of separation is likely to be classed as the date you began living separate lives under the one roof at home, such as eating meals separately, sleeping in separate bedrooms, no longer doing one another’s laundry etc.
You may never wish to formalise or legalise your separation but if you do, you have some options available to you, which are:
- Separation Agreement
- Judicial Separation
- Divorce
A Separation Agreement is an agreement setting out the terms of your separation. The issues often addressed in a Separation Agreement are arrangements for the children, financial issues such as who will occupy the family home and who pays the bills, and sometimes even arrangements for the family pet(s). The date of separation can be included within this document. Be aware, a Separation Agreement is not legally binding, but it would carry weight if certain criteria are met.
Judicial Separation is a legal way to formally separate. Judicial Separation is often chosen where you do not wish to get divorced (for religious or personal reasons), you have been married for less than a year (and so cannot issue divorce proceedings yet) or you just want time to work on the marriage. An application would be made (either jointly or a sole application by one spouse) to state a Judicial Separation is sought. An Order of Judicial Separation is then made once the Court is satisfied the criteria has been met. At the conclusion of Judicial Separation proceedings, you are legally separated but you do remain married to your spouse. To formally end the marriage you would need to issue Divorce proceedings.
Divorce proceedings legally end the marriage once finalised. An application would be made (either jointly or a sole application by one spouse) to state the marriage has irretrievably broken down. Two orders are made (Conditional Order and Final Order) in the proceedings which takes between 6-9 months usually. Once the Final Order is granted, the marriage is legally dissolved.
