Sometimes called ‘Minutes of Settlement’ - a written contract between two former partners or spouses in which you state that you are separated and that usually includes sections (‘clauses’) on decision-making responsibility for and parenting time with children, support issues, and the division of assets and debts. Separation agreements are usually written by lawyers – the court does not prepare separation agreements.
You are not required to have a separation agreement put in place when you separate. If you do make one, then you may be able to apply to the court to ask for it to be registered in certain situations. When a separation agreement is registered with the court, this makes it a court order, and it may be able to be enforced like a court order.
You can apply to register your separation agreement with the court. If the judge approves the registration, this means that your separation agreement is now a court order, and if you ever want to change its terms in the future, you will have to apply to the court to do this. If you register your separation agreement with the court, this means that you can now have any child or spousal support payments go through the Maintenance Enforcement Program.