If you and your spouse decide to prepare your own agreement, it`s a good idea to get legal advice before signing. After signing, the agreement is legally binding and can be enforced by a court. If everyone is happy that the agreement is fair, you and your spouse sign it. The agreement is mandatory (you both have to do what you agreed) once you sign it. The Legal Services Society (LSS), BC`s mutual legal assistance provider, recently enhanced its dialogue tool, one of the interactive online trails on the MyLawBC website. MyLawBC should help you find solutions to common legal problems. In these eNews, LSS explains how using the dialogue tool can help a couple create a separation agreement. If you don`t have children and there are no ownership or support issues, you may not need a separation agreement. It is a good idea to get legal advice from a family lawyer independently.
You can help you decide if you need a separation agreement or if you want to sign one. If you can`t draft an agreement directly with your spouse, there are services that can help you negotiate, including lawyers, mediators, and family justice advisors. Whether you`re married or common law, an agreement often means you can solve your problems without ever going to court. You save time, money and emotional turbulence and you retain control of important decisions about your family. And much more. But this is not the end of the agreement. Even if you have designed the best separation agreement in BC, it can still be canceled. How? A separation agreement is a written and signed document. It is documented how a couple agreed to resolve their family law issues.
You and your spouse can make a written agreement (sometimes called cohabitation or marriage contract) while you are cohabiting. There is no «legal separation» in British Columbia. You don`t need to sign papers or consult a judge or lawyer to separate. Couples can simply. Divide. The table below shows you what the court is thinking about before deciding whether part of your agreement can be rescinded. Think about these things when you`re considering changing an agreement. After signing the agreement, we filed it in family court, as there is no registration fee. And it will be like a court order.
I`m glad we did that! Now we both understand what our rights and duties are. Separation doesn`t always mean a relationship is over forever. Some people will consult to try to rebuild their relationship. Married spouses can try to reconcile (get back together) by cohabiting for up to 90 days during the one-year separation. If they live together for more than 90 days, the clock is reset and a new one-year separation period begins (if they separate again). If the other person does not do what is written in your parental agreement, you can request that the agreement be made by the court. The court may impose the consequences. Spouses can deal with the division of the debt in a separation agreement. Until then, they will have to make decisions about paying family bills. Does the spouse allowed to live in the house have to pay the mortgage? Who pays for credit cards and incidentals? Our information on the distribution of property and debt has more to do with it….
