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Separation is a turning point in a relationship in more ways than one. Apart from the obvious change to what was once a romantic relationship, separation also triggers a number of important legal consequences.
*Guardians must have separated before they can ask for an order about parenting children under section 45 of the ''[[Family Law Act]]''. An Also, an agreement between guardians about parenting children is only binding if the agreement is made after they have separated, under section 44 of the act.
*The date of separation is the date when each spouse gets a one-half interest in all family property and becomes responsible for one-half of all family debt, under section 81 of the ''Family Law Act''.
*The date of separate separation marks the end of the period during which family property and family debt accumulates, under sections 84(1) and 86.
*An agreement about child support is only binding if the agreement is made after the date of separation, under section 148(1) of the ''Family Law Act''.
*The date of separation marks the beginning of the two-year period during which unmarried spouses must begin a claim for the division of property and debt or for spousal support, under section 198(2)of the act.
*The date of separation marks the beginning of the one-year period during which married spouses must live "separate and apart" to ask for a divorce on the basis of separation, under section 8(2)(a) of the ''[[Divorce Act]]''.
Because so many legal issues hinge on the date of separation, it won't be a surprise that people sometimes wind up arguing about when separation occurred. As a result, there's a good bit of case law about what constitutes "separation" and how to figure out which what date is the date of separation. Making things a bit more complicated, while the <span class="noglossary">decision</span> to separate is often made be by everyone involved in a relationship, it only takes one person to decide to end a relationship, and a <span class="noglossary">decision</span> to end a relationship doesn't require anyone else's the consent or agreementof anyone else.
===Getting a "legal separation"===
Some people go to family law lawyers to get a "legal separation." Separation is accomplished, in most cases, by simply leaving the family home with the intention of living separate lives, although technically speaking it isn't necessary to move out at all. Once you or your spouse has announced that the relationship is at an end, boom, you're separated. That's it. There are no special legal documents to sign or file in court to become separated, and there is no such thing as a legal separation in British Columbia.
Now, to be fair, what people often mean by "legal separation" is a ''separation agreement''. That's something else altogether. A separation agreement is a contract that people use to record their agreement about things like how the children will be cared for, how their property will be shared, and how child support and spousal support will be paid. Separation agreements aren't always necessaryuseful, they're not required by the law, and you can't be forced to sign a separation agreement.
You can find more information about separation agreements in the chapter [[Family Law Agreements]], in the section [[Separation Agreements]]. You can find out more about preparing to separate in [[How Do I Prepare for Separation?]], located in the Helpful Guides & Common Questions section of this resource. Look under ''Marriage, Separation and Divorce''.
In general, the date of separation has the following effects:
Spouses do not need to move out in <span class="noglossary">order</span> to be separated. WhatAll that's needed is for at least one spouse to reach the conclusion that the relationship is over, say so, and then begin behaving as if the relationship really is over. That usually means stopping sleeping together, stopping doing chores for each other, stopping going out together and so on. Section 3(4) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' talks about this issueseparating while continuing to live together:
<blockquote><tt>For the purposes of this Act,</tt></blockquote>
It's important to know that the Canada Revenue Agency has its own definition of separation, and requires people to have lived separate and apart for 90 days before it considers them to be separated. Once that 90-day period is over, the date of separation is the date the couple first began to live separate and apart.
===Separation and divorce===
Under section 8(1) of the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' there is only one reason, or ''ground'', why the court can make a divorce order — marriage breakdown. Under section 8(2), there are three ways to prove that a marriage has in fact broken down:
#the spouses have "lived separate and apart for at least one year;"
#one of the spouses has committed adultery; and,
#one of the spouses has treated the other with such mental or physical cruelty that the spouses can't continue to live together.
Almost all claims for divorce in Canada are based on separation. It doesn't imply that anyone did anything bad or was more responsible for the end of the relationship than the other.
===Separation and children===