Last Updated on: 23rd June 2025, 03:49 pm

Long Island Separation Agreements: Comprehensive Guide for Legal Separation in New York

If you or your spouse have reached the difficult decision to part ways, you face important questions on how to handle the property, wealth and children your marriage produced. Legal separation is when you stop living with your spouse and you have a legal separation agreement, or contract, that you both follow.

A carefully-drafted separation agreement by one of our Long Island separation agreements attorneys can help you answer these questions and avoid the augmented stress and uncertainty of a court proceeding.

Spousal Support and Alimony in Separation Agreements

Generally, spouses have become accustomed to a certain standard of living and, in some cases, one becomes dependent on the other. A separation agreement can address alimony or other spousal support.

In one alternative, the other spouse can completely waive alimony or support. You or your spouse could agree on an amount. Either way, the separation agreement bars the spouse’s right to sue for alimony or post-separation support.

Such may avoid an airing in court of accusations of infidelity, abuse, indignities or other misconduct that caused the marital discord.

Property Settlement During Legal Separation

Separation agreements often establish a scheme to divide marital property and allocate responsibility for particular debts. Separation agreements are generally prepared and negotiated by attorneys, who can tailor the agreement to the needs of your family.

Terms may address who keeps the property and who assumes the mortgage. In some cases, the non-residing spouse may take on the mortgage payments and have them treated as spousal or child support payments.

For property and debts in each spouse’s individual names, an agreement on division may not require much effort or oversight after the spouses sign. Joint debts complicate matters.

While you and the spouse can decide upon ultimate responsibility between you, creditors are not bound by separation agreements. If both your names are on the account, you have to contemplate how you’ll make sure the other spouse keeps the credit card or debt payments current. The other spouse’s non-compliance could ruin your credit.

Spousal Inheritance Rights

Without a separation agreement, you cannot shut your spouse out of the estate. In other words, at your death, your spouse has certain rights to your estate even if you leave the spouse out of your will.

If you die without a will, your spouse automatically gets a share of your estate as determined by the statute. The separation agreement can specify that your spouse waives his or her rights to share in any part of your estate.

These rights include:

• Dower
• Election for a spousal share in place of the will
• To be a beneficiary of your spouse’s estate

Divorce terminates the spouse’s rights to share in your estate. Without a separation agreement, you take a chance that you’ll die before a divorce becomes final and your spouse will be able to share in your estate.

Child Custody and Support Provisions

Provisions About the Children

In your separation agreement, you can provide for custody arrangements. Child support can be an important income source for children and their custodial parents who receive these payments.

These may include sharing legal custody with one spouse having primary physical custody, or a parent having both the sole physical and legal custody.

For visitation, you can establish:

• A schedule or frequency of weekends
• Whether to alternate holidays
• Restrictions on non-related overnight guests if that is a concern of yours

A Basis for Divorce

New York Domestic Relations Law Section 170(6) allows the separation agreement to be a ground for divorce if you have lived separate and apart from your spouse for one year after signing it. A separation agreement can also say that some parts are merged into the divorce judgment, but that other parts survive the divorce judgment.

To get a divorce on this basis, you need to file the agreement with the clerk of court’s office before or at the time you ask for a divorce. Also, the court will want proof you have fulfilled your promises under the agreement.

As an alternative, you can seek a divorce by claiming an “irretrievable” deterioration of your marriage for a six-month period.

If you go this route, your divorce does not become final until the court or you and your spouse – after the start of the divorce action – have resolved your property division, custody, spousal support and child support issues. While each case differs, these disputes could linger for numerous months into the divorce action.

Enforcing the Agreement

Separation agreements are contracts. If a spouse fails to meet the requirements of the agreement, the other spouse may sue in court.

If your spouse or ex-spouse violates it, you can seek an order in court for the spouse or former spouse to perform. Our attorneys can advise you on the benefits of allowing the agreement to survive the divorce.

Having an attorney assist you can help avoid obstacles to its enforceability in court. Judges likely will not enforce them if you tried to hide property or accounts from your spouse while you worked out details of the agreement.

Lying about your property or other important matters may void the agreement. However, the mere fact that you fall short of an obligation doesn’t prove fraud.

Also, be aware that resumption of marital relations, such as living together, may revoke the separation agreement.

Saving Your Marriage Through Legal Separation

Contact one of our long island separation agreements attorneys for advice or representation in fashioning an agreement that protects your interests.

Every marriage has its set of problems. Very few people have it good all the time. It may come down to a specific instance of bad behavior on the part of your spouse or you may be at a point in the marriage at which you just cannot seem to agree on anything.

It is hard for two individuals to see eye-to-eye all the time. When you live with one another, have children together, and are involved in living a shared life you will inevitably run into situations that bring out differences between you.

When Separation May Be the Answer

However, the number and depth of the disagreements may have gone past the point of toleration. Neither one of you want to divorce. That is an action that is too final and perhaps too severe given the circumstances.

However, it is impossible for you to work your problems out while still living together. There is an alternative. You can both sign up to a separation agreement.

Separation need not be the first step toward divorce. A legal separation is a court-ordered agreement in which a married couple lives separate lives, usually by living apart. Plenty of couples have actually resolved their differences and come back together stronger than ever after some time apart.

Taking this step may be the most effective way to save your marriage.

The Importance of Independent Legal Counsel

You should retain your own legal counsel for this action. Doing so may have the feel of divorce, but it is merely a means of ensuring that everything is clear between you. It is important to have legal counsel who is completely in your employment to look over the contract.

Separating leaves a great deal of issues to be resolved. All the assets that the two of you have built up over the years must be accessible to you both.

There is also the matter of maintenance. If your spouse has been the primary earner for the family, you can get maintenance included in the separation agreement.

Protecting Children During Separation

Custody and child support arrangements must also be settled. Parents can agree on an amount for child support in a Separation Agreement.

You may want to retain custody of the children, and you will be able to work out the details of visitation with your spouse. It is also essential that the two of you agree on the amount of child support that will be paid while the two of you are living apart.

Although you are not taking this action under divorce laws, the laws concerning child support that must be given by the non-custodial parent are still in effect.

Creating a Comprehensive Agreement

All of this can be sorted out before you part ways. Legal separation basics include that you stay married but the court divides your property and debts and makes orders about financial support.

Working with an attorney who specializes in separation agreements is the best way to ensure that your interests are looked after. What you don’t want to do is find yourself on your own, deprived of support, and with no legal recourse to correct the situation.

You must also ensure that your children will be cared for. Putting the details on a legally binding document is the only way to make sure that things work out as you want them to.

Choosing the Right Attorney

This is not a matter to be worked and handled by any old lawyer. You need to employ an attorney who possesses expertise in drawing up separation agreements.

This is also important because of what might happen after the agreement is signed. There may come a point at which your partner does not live up to their end of the bargain.

You will need someone who knows how to get the agreement enforced. You want a lawyer who is competent and deeply insightful about this area of family law.