A separation agreement is a written legal document that memorializes both the marital and divorce agreements of a couple prior to their divorce. A separation agreement must be signed and notarized to become effective, and must be entered into voluntarily with full disclosure on the part of both parties to actually be enforced.

A contested divorce - a divorce without such an agreement - can costs thousands of dollars, in attorney fees, court costs, and filing fees, and can cause a lot of stress and unnecessary headaches. By contrast, an uncontested divorce, where both parties have already resolved their differences by agreement, is much less expensive and time-consuming. A separation agreement reduces the cost of divorce by resolving important dissolution issues, such as alimony, child or pet custody and visitation, child support, and property distribution.

There is a bit of confusion between separation agreements and legal separation. In general, a separation agreement is not a legal separation. A legal separation is simply a term given to the status of a married couple. A separation agreement is an enforceable contract between the couple regarding their agreements about the ending of their marriage.

Most places require a physical separation of parties to effect a legal separation, others permit married couples to continue to live together during the separation period - often called "cohabitation." Some states require nothing more than a physical separation of the parties to begin a legal separation, while others require the filing of certain documents with a court to get separation procedures started. Although a separation agreement can be considered to be a legal separation in some instances, the terms are not interchangeable.

There are several advantages to having a separation agreement. Most states allow couples who have entered into a separation agreements to be divorced much more quickly than couples without such an agreement. The agreement almost universally allows a couple to pursue the divorce on an uncontested basis, which is truly thousands of dollars cheaper than an ugly contested divorce.

A divorce attorney in your state can help discuss separation terms and agreements can make a divorce easier for you. Divorce should always be seen as a last resort at the end of a marriage, but if that seems to be the only option, at least a separation agreement can make the divorce proceedings easier.