People often confuse separation for divorce. These are entirely different occurrences. Legal separation never puts an end to a marriage; however, it allows you to live separately from your spouse while contemplating a permanent split, divorce, or working towards eventual reconciliation. During this time, the courts in Long Island give orders that stipulate one's rights and responsibilities to their spouse. A legal separation agreement is different from an informal separation agreement – in the legal separation, one has to approve and even order a legal separation. It also is different from divorce since the marriage continues despite the separation. The legal separation agreement in Long Island covers everything that is stipulated in the final decree of a divorce. For instance, if a divorce occurs, it stipulates how much child support you'd receive from your spouse if you had children. Custody is also included according to what spouses agreed while together. In the separation agreement, issues of marital assets and debts, child support and care, visitation schedules, and also spousal support are included. This agreement protects your interests until the time the decision to file for a divorce is made. Here Are Some Advantages of Legal Separation Military spouses have the privilege to remain married for up to 10 years to take advantage of the benefits that are set up by the USFSPA (Uniformed Services Former Spouse Protection Act). However, it's important to note that judges here also have the discretion when it comes to splitting assets such as retirement income during the military divorce. Being married for ten years during the legal separation term means you are entitled to social security benefits for the spouse. In the event the spouse draws more social security than you, you benefit by being married for ten years and can draw a more considerable sum of social security through drawing from your partner's social security retirement. A legal separation allows you to retain medical and many other benefits which divorce agreement would not. It never leaves the other partner without a health insurance. It is, therefore, advantageous if one of the partners is struggling financially or if they had been out of work for long. Not only will it give you the opportunity to become financially stable but you'll also enjoy most of the marriage's benefits. Couples in Long Island get an ample time out of marriage and conflicts to decide what they truly want. This is seen as a cooling down period especially if your marriage was full of disputes at the time. You can get counseling and coached on conflict management. Here are some reasons why hiring a legal separation lawyer is advised: They understand legal separation law Since separation law is very complicated, these professionals will interpret it for you and even give you advice on how to go about your separation agreement, or whether it is even worthwhile. Pitfalls can be easily avoided while filing this agreement. Proper filing of court documents If you are not an attorney, you shouldn't act like one. Your quest to file a legal separation agreement may be hampered due to missed deadlines and lack of proper protocols to correctly fill out the legal documents. A slight delay or incorrect filing of a document could derail the whole procedure and have your plea rubbished by the courts.