Aside from these considerations, it is also important to remember that marriage agreements are usually only meant to be used at some unknown time in the future. While separation agreements are intended to work immediately from the moment they are signed, marriage agreements usually aren't intended to work until some later time, usually upon the spouses' separation. As a result, it can be difficult to guess what each party's situation will be like when the agreement begins to operate and guess whether it will still be appropriate and fair. Because of these problems, hiring the services of a lawyer to prepare a marriage agreement is highly recommended.