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A Separation Agreement, unlike a divorce, is not a means of ending a marriage. In fact, it is not even a legal order and can be created without need to visit or file any documents with any court. It is, however, a useful means of determining a variety of important matters – such as childcare arrangements, the division of debts and who will retain the matrimonial home – following a married couple having separated. Separation Agreements are also known as Deeds of Separation and, as discussed above, are used in order to state each spouse’s responsibilities and what has been agreed between them. It is not a court order, however, and there are no immediate penalties if either party fails to adhere to the agreement. They are deemed to be contracts and a party can be deemed to be in breach of contract if they fail to adhere to the agreements stipulated within but Separation Agreements are, for these reasons, far more difficult to enforce than court orders. For this reason, it is important to note that Separation Agreements are useful when both parties are amicable and are happy to stick to these agreements only. Such agreements are usually made when the two parties are either unable to divorce as they do not wish to file on the fault-based grounds of either adultery or unreasonable behaviour and have not yet been separated for two years or simply wish to undertake a trial separation in order to determine whether or not a divorce is a suitable course of action. They are useful in as much as they can be used to remind each spouse of their responsibilities with regards to any children of the marriage, financial commitments and so on. Equally important is the fact that, should the couple in question pursue a divorce, then the caveats of the agreement can be used to prepare a Consent Order that will make the agreement legally binding. It is important to note that Separation Agreements and legal separation (legally known as Judicial Separation) are often mistaken for one another when they are, in fact, very different. For more information on legal separation, please view this post.