4. Sign your separation agreement

There are rules about how you make a separation agreement. These are called formal requirements. These rules say your agreement must be:

• in writing
• have a date
• signed by both people who are making the agreement
• witnessed, which means you and your partner have to sign the agreement in front of another person
• signed by the witness

If you don't follow these rules, and you don’t agree later about your separation agreement, the court doesn't have to order you or your partner to follow it.

There are no specific rules about what information you need to have in your separation agreement. But you should be as clear and detailed as you can so that the agreement shows exactly what you and your partner agreed to.

This is important in case you have a problem later because your partner is not following your separation agreement.