Write your own separation agreement

How to use this guide

This guide divides the separation agreement into the following sections, which are listed in the navigation panel at the side of your screen:

Your agreement must include the Introductory clauses and Conclusion. Include the sections on parenting, child support, spousal support, property, and debts if they apply to your situation.

As you go through the sections, you can include the clauses that apply to your situation. When you finish each section, you click a button to generate a text version of the section. You copy and paste that text from your browser into a file (such as a Microsoft Word document). The compilation of all of your sections makes up your agreement. See below for more details.

To protect your privacy, we don't save the information you provide. Be sure to complete each section and save its text in a document before moving on to the next section. Your information will be lost when you navigate to a new page or close your browser window.

Expandable instructions

Each section of the agreement is divided into topics. Each topic has a heading and a set of instructions. Click Show instructions under a heading to open step-by-step instructions for filling out that part of the agreement. (Try it below.)

Show instructions

If you're not sure what to do in part of a section, click on the blue Show instructions bar to open step-by-step instructions to help you. Click on the bar again to close the instructions.

These instructions don't appear in your text file.

Including clauses

Each topic contains sample clauses to deal with different situations.

Click Don't include if a clause doesn't apply. The clause will be greyed out to show that it won't appear in your agreement. Once a clause is greyed out, you can add it again by clicking Include. (Try it below.)

1Sample clause: This agreement is a final agreement.

Include

Don't include

All the clauses in each section are automatically included in your text file unless you click Don't include. If you change your mind, you can always include the clause again by clicking Include

For some clauses, you may need to type in some information. The instructions tell you what you need to do.

Each clause in the guide has a reference number to help you as you go through the sections. These numbers won't appear in your text file. You'll number the clauses in the agreement yourself. (See the instructions at the end of each section.)

Creating a text file

When you finish a section, click the Open text version button at the bottom of the section. (See the sample button below.) This open a new browser window with a text version of the included clauses in that section.

Copy the text and paste it into a word processing document. Give your document a meaningful name (for example, "Separation Agreement, [Name] and [Name], [Date]") and save it where you can find it again.

Add each section that you complete to the end of the document. Save the document every time, before you navigate to the next section.

When you have added all the sections, clean up the document and number the clauses. Each section includes downloadable detailed instructions for how to do this.