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Changes
→The date of separation
*begins the two-year period within which unmarried spouses must begin a court proceeding for spousal support, if settlement can't be reached (the two-year period for married spouses starts on the date of their divorce).
The [[Property_%26_Debt_in_Family_Law_Matters|Property & Debt]] chapter on the division of property and debt talks about the first four issues in more detail; the [[Spousal Support]] chapter on spousal support talks about the last issue.
Spouses do not need to move out in <span class="noglossary">order</span> to be separated. What's needed is for at least one spouse to reach the conclusion that the relationship is over, to say as much to the other spouse, and then begin behaving as if the relationship is over. That usually means stopping behaving like a couple, stopping sleeping together, stopping doing chores and tasks for each other, and so on. Section 3(4) of the ''Family Law Act'' talks about separation: