New York Marital Separation Agreements Lawyer

Separation agreements are agreements between spouses that allow you both to decide everything you want to have happen with regard to your children, spousal support, assets and debts upon the failure of the marriage. Attorney Diana G. Cunningham has many years of experience dealing with separation agreements

• A separation can also be obtained by suing for separation, rather than suing for divorce, which one might consider if the other party is unwilling to work out a settlement and you do not want to sue for divorce at this time for some reason. There are grounds for separation, just like there are grounds for divorce.

• Separation agreements require both sides to be willing to sit down and negotiate a settlement. After all, an “agreement” is exactly that. If one party is unwilling to do that, then there is no point in proceeding down this road. If both parties are willing to try to work this out without the intervention of the Court, then this is a much less expensive, both financially and emotionally, way to proceed. Just remember that you cannot force someone into negotiating with you.

Just like a divorce entails various issues, so does a separation agreement. In general terms, they allow both parties to live separate and apart without interference from the other, as if they are unmarried; they generally waive each other out of rights to the other’s estate which would otherwise be a statutory entitlement. There is a disclosure of all financial information for each of the parties so that a fair and reasonable distribution of all assets can be made, just as there is in a divorce action.

• An agreement can be drafted for certain issues that you agree upon, even if the balance cannot be agreed to. For example, you may be able to work out the issue of custody and visitation; so that you can make an agreement on that issue that you can submit to the Court to make it a Court order.

• Each issue that you can agree to and get approved by a Court will avoid your having to litigate that issue. Sometimes this can be an effective way to limit the issues to those that you really cannot agree to, and save a great deal in legal fees and emotional distress by doing it.

• Keep in mind that these agreements can be challenged, or there are mechanisms to get a Court to modify them, just as an Order of the Court may be modified under specific circumstances.

• If you are already involved in a divorce action, nothing stops you from working out a settlement in the middle of it. These are often called Opting Out Stipulations. Essentially, it is a separation agreement which is reached during any part of a litigation. It would incorporate everything that would be in a separation agreement, but often not the waiver of estate rights or right to live separate and apart.

For answer to all of your separation agreement questions, and all issues related to separations, contact us today.  Ms. Cunningham and our staff will attentively pursue your case to achieve the best possible results.  Let Diana help you take control of your situation!

Attorney Diana G. Cunningham confidently represents clients in a variety of family law, real estate and other legal matters in Syracuse, New York, the cities of Auburn, Oswego, Cortland Cayuga, the counties of Onondaga, Madison, Cayuga, Cortland, Oswego, and all of the surrounding areas.

Diana G. Cunningham
913 State Tower Building
109 South Warren Street
Syracuse, New York 13202
Phone: (315) 472-8655
Fax: (315) 472-5800
Email