What are some of the benefits of having a Deed of Separation?
- If you and your spouse are expected to be separated for some time before a Divorce is eventually obtained, a Deed of Separation will help you both to set clear rules as to how your living and financial arrangements during the ongoing separation will be managed:
- This will help to reduce potential issues of dispute from arising and minimise the likelihood of disagreements between you and your spouse during the ongoing separation.
- In doing so, the Deed of Separation can help to reduce the likelihood of unhappiness or ill feeling between you and your spouse when you start Divorce Proceedings later.
- A Deed of Separation also helps to clarify and confirm when the period of 3 years’ or 4 years’ of separation will start and finish so that you and your spouse can proceed to rely on the separation as a grounds for the Divorce at the appropriate time.
- Although you and your spouse may need to spend time and effort on reaching an agreement in the Deed of Separation as to how the Ancillary Matters will be dealt with (even before Divorce Proceedings are even started), this may ultimately help save time and costs because the Deed of Separation can be used to clearly set out that the terms of the Divorce and exactly how the Ancillary Matters will be dealt with:
- For example, the Deed of Separation can state that both you and your spouse agree that either of you can obtain an uncontested Divorce after the relevant separation period has been completed.
- In addition, the Deed of Separation can set out exactly how all the Ancillary Matters (e.g. maintenance, division of matrimonial assets, children) will be dealt with and this would eliminate the need or likelihood of contested Ancillary Proceedings.
- In this way, a Deed of Separation can help to bring about uncontested divorce and ancillary matters proceedings which would mean that you (as well as your children and other concerned family members) can stand to save the time, effort, resources and costs which would otherwise have been needed in contested proceedings.
