Separations agreements are binding. They are agreements between 2 people. If one or the other fails to uphold his side of the agreement the other can take him or her to court for breach of contract. If you win then the spouse would have to pay attorney fees more than likely.
Separations agreements are not “filed”. File with who? If you took it to the court clerk and said you want to file this. They would just look at you. You have a copy and your spouse has a copy. There is no filing. They are binding the moment they are notarized. If the agreement states that he is to provide health care it doesn’t matter if the employer drops you from the group plan. He agreed to provide your health care. He has to pony up and provide you health care. Where it comes from is not your concern. Right? Unless the agreement said he would provide group health care through his employer. Then you are in a grey area. Those are the reasons you have attorney’s look over those things.
Separation papers are not filed in North Carolina. They can be recorded with the register of deeds, but does not mean your legal status has changed to “legally separated.”
In some states you can have five different legal statuses: single, married, widowed, divorced or legally separated, any change in this status can affect benefits such as health insurance. In North Carolina there is no legal status of “legally separated” therefore health insurance generally does not terminate until you are divorced.
A separation agreement is legally binding once it is signed and notarized.
P.S. Please feel free to bring up this or any other topic on our live call-in show every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. EST. Visit radio.rosen.com/live for details
Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm
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The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action. The information posted on this forum is available for public viewing and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship with any individual. These answers are provided for informational purposes only, a person should consult with their own individual legal counsel before taking any action that could affect their legal rights or obligations.
if we draw up our own papers, consult an attn. (since we are in agreement there is no need to pay all the attn. fees) sign them, and have them notarized… are they binding??
or do we HAVE to file them immediately? to be binding?
his employer pays 100% of his family ins. … I asked him to keep me on his policy for 1 year… he said he would
the employer says once the sep. papers are filed they will drop me so
without getting into an arguement with the place he works…we both agreed…IF this is binding, we would do everything except actually file the separation in court
so … in summary
will they be binding if not filed?
would they be MORE binding if filed?