Answers to Frequently Asked Marital Separation Agreement Questions
The signed Separation Agreement should address specifically the disposition of any personal property from a marital home.
But if a spouse is not willingly removing personal belongings from the marital home after repeated requests to do so, short-term there may be little a divorcing spouse can do to compel the action.
While the fact that a legal document is handwritten has no bearing on its validity, it would be impossible to know if your own handwritten agreement is legal and valid without reviewing the LANGUAGE used within.
The market value of your home simply should be a value that is agreed upon by you and your spouse. There are some online tools you can use to help you make this valuation.
A person does not give up his or her property rights because of a move to a new location. So in most instances, a spouse would not lose ownership claim to items like furniture, clothing, jewelry, electronics, etc. simply for moving out of the residence.
Sometimes a person can gain full ownership rights to a home from a Separation Agreement or a Divorce proceeding. But what if the Deed to that home still shows both names of the divorced couple on it, and the newly single owner wishes to sell it?
On occasion in a pro se Divorce or Separation, one spouse will quitclaim their house to the other spouse as part of the agreement. But many times in this situation, the couple does not adjust the mortgage contract for the property, as doing so can sometimes invalidate the mortgage and/or require a balloon payment on the balance.
The laws of most states follow that only those who sign a mortgage note are obligated to make payments on it.
But this is not to suggest that the court might not apply different or varying obligations on the parties should a divorce action be filed — especially if there is a disagreement between the parties on the subject.
No, you cannot restore the legal use of your maiden name through a Separation Agreement, which is merely a contract between two persons.
To change your name in a legal sense, you must petition the court.
Ownership of real estate is evidenced by a deed. If two people are listed on the deed as joint owners, each owns an undivided one-half interest in the whole of the property.
Mortgages, on the other hand, are encumbrances placed upon real property by a lender to secure payment of a loan. A mortgage signed by one person to purchase real property encumbers that person\’s one-half interest in the real property.
A Separation Agreement is a contract, and if the Agreement was valid and binding when signed, it will be valid and enforceable at a later date.
However, if you are looking to use an older Separation Agreement as part of a Divorce filing now, the document must fully and accurately reflect the financial condition of the parties today.