Christine Hickey, Esq.   120 East Washington Street, Suite 711, Syracuse, New York 13202   (315) 422-9756

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Agreement to Live Apart 

There are times when a couple does not wish to enter into a formal legal Separation Agreement.  Instead, they wish to live separately from one another and want to formalize their arrangements in writing.  They may decide to live apart because they are happier living in their own households while maintaining a lasting, intimate relationship with one another. At other times their physical separation is to enhance their chances of living together again successfully or to enable them to reach a cooperatively negotiated (mediated) Separation Agreement.

Temporary Living Apart Agreements are often negotiated to help facilitate a peaceful physical separation while a couple mediates the more comprehensive legal Separation Agreement.  In these cases, mediation participants work out a temporary parenting plan, temporary support and tentative decisions about who shall have possession of the primary marital residence.  These agreements usually include provisions that neither person is abandoning the other, the children or their home, and that the physical separation is mutually agreed upon.

Other provisions that may be included in a Temporary Living Apart Agreement concern how to handle existing debts, understandings about acquiring new assets and debts, and dating.  

A Living Apart Agreement is not a Separation Agreement and cannot be used as a basis for a divorce.

​CNY MEDIATION SERVICES, Inc.
Syracuse, New York Divorce Mediator
120 East Washington Street, Suite 711
Syracuse, New York 13202
(315) 422-9756 Phone (315) 479-5651 Fax
mchickey@a-znet.com
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