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Countersignature separation agreement

[Music] my name is Katie Cooper I'm one of the lawyers that connect family law today I'm going to talk about the difference between separation agreements and court orders specifically I'm going to talk about three differences and one similarity so the first difference is the who who makes a separation agreement and a court order with a separation agreement the who is you and your former partner really it's a negotiation and no one is going to force you to agree to any particular term the two of you can sort of hash out your differences and come up with an agreement that works for both of you now for a court order it's a little bit different the who is actually a judge who is a stranger to your relationship and a neutral decision-maker unlike a separation agreement it's not a negotiation at all you or your lawyers go to court you each make submissions and the court will decide which of you is going to win on each of the issues now that can be a little bit stressful because the control is now outside of you and your partner and it's given to somebody who doesn't really know you at all the second difference is the how and that is how is a separation agreement and a court order created now with a separation agreement the ability to come up with terms that really make sense for you even if it's not necessarily how the law would strictly interpret your situation whereas a court order the how is through the law so the judge is going to apply the legislation and case law that applies to your circumstance now how that impacts your day-to-day life could be quite significant think of for example your partner and you have a beloved pet now if you go to court the law says that a pet is treated like a sofa and the court will determine which of you owns the dog and that will be it now that might not work for you you and your partner might instead want to come up with an arrangement where both of you are able to share ownership of the pet maybe you even have a visitation schedule for your beloved dog that's something that the two of you can work out in a separation agreement that would be very different than the result of a court order the third difference is the where and where these orders and agreements are made now with separation agreements the process is completely private it's just the two of you potentially with a mediator or with your legal counsel working out an agreement behind closed doors and the ultimate agreement is yours to keep and to discuss with as many or as little people as you would like now that's really different than a court order which is public and the whole proceedings any member of the public can come and watch your trial the ultimate decision will also be public anyone could find out exactly what the evidence was at your trial and what the ultimate court order was now for people who like to maintain their privacy that's a distinct advantage that a separation agreement has over court order now I promised I would talk about one similarity and that is the similarity of enforceability now both court orders and separation agreements are enforceable court orders may have more teeth in terms of enforcement violating a court order could lead to serious fines potentially even imprisonment but ultimately both the separation and agreement and a court order can be enforced now from this discussion should be obvious that connect family law we do our best to help people try to resolve their issues through a separation agreement process rather than litigation and that is for the reasons discussed that it's private that you have control and that you can really craft terms that make sense for your family even if they don't necessarily accord with the black letter of the law if you have any questions about which approach makes the most sense for your family please contact us at connect family law we'd be very happy to help [Music]