The short answer is no and here’s why:

If your marriage is in trouble but you aren’t quite ready to pull the trigger, people think that a separation agreement is an option. If an agreement is drafted that both people agree upon and sign, you may have entered into a legal contract. However, that doesn’t mean that the contract would be upheld in probate court when you do finally seek a divorce.

To enforce a legal contract, you would have to file a breach of contract action in Superior court. That can be a long, expensive and arduous process. My advice to anyone wishing to separate would be to either execute a post nuptial agreement or get a joint divorce. A post-nup requires full financial disclosure, fair and reasonableness at the time of execution and at the time of divorce, that it was signed freely and that both parties had the opportunity for independent legal counsel to review.

What people often don’t understand is that once a separation agreement is reached, it is a very simple matter to turn it into a Joint Divorce Petition and just get divorced so that there’s some finality to the issues involved.

When people are contemplating separation and/or divorce, it is really important to get the advice of an experienced divorce attorney to weigh all of your options and make the best choices for your family.