Author Topic: Contract of Separation  (Read 1812 times)

Offline Forfarian

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Contract of Separation
« on: Monday 18 February 19 18:04 GMT (UK) »
I came across this term yesterday and it is a completely new one on me.

I have a couple in my tree who were married in 1786. He died in 1840 and she in 1843.

Having downloaded his very long will with 3 codicils, as I was ploughing through the repetitive verbiage and endless detailed descriptions of the testator's many properties in search of clues to the family, I came across, in the first codicil (dated 1828), a reference to a 'Contract of Separation' dated 20th March 1822 between himself and his wife.

I've never heard of such a thing before.

I am now wondering if this contract might perhaps be in the Registers of Deeds in the National Records of Scotland. I do hope so!



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Offline GR2

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #1 on: Monday 18 February 19 21:57 GMT (UK) »
If you search for "contract of separation" in the NRS catalogue, three come up.

Offline Forfarian

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #2 on: Monday 18 February 19 22:38 GMT (UK) »
So they do - but not the one I am interested in. Thanks.
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Offline Rena

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #3 on: Monday 18 February 19 23:31 GMT (UK) »
It's a legal separation and the husband isn't responsible for his wife's debts.

We had a neighbour in the 1940s who had legally separated from his wife (probably couldn't afford the fees for a divorce)

I wonder if your couple's separation is in the Edinburgh Gazette.  If it is, you'll know the names of the legal team and there might be a chance of finding the documention in the archives.
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Offline Forfarian

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 19 February 19 09:33 GMT (UK) »
I wonder if your couple's separation is in the Edinburgh Gazette.  If it is, you'll know the names of the legal team and there might be a chance of finding the documention in the archives.
There's a thought. I'll have a look. Thanks.
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Offline MonicaL

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 19 February 19 15:08 GMT (UK) »
I think Rena is correct. See this from 1828:

Held that a contract of separation and provision, whereby a hus- 1
band bound himself to pay to his wife, during her life and separa-
tion, an annuity of £30, in consideration of which she renounced
all legal claims against him, was not effectual to bar her from
claiming her legal provisions on his death, — the amount not being
fair, onerous, and adequate in the circumstances of the husband,
No/ 157. p. 266.

https://archive.org/stream/casesdecidedinc00blacgoog/casesdecidedinc00blacgoog_djvu.txt

Monica
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Offline Forfarian

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 19 February 19 15:36 GMT (UK) »
Interesting, thanks.

The first codicil in the husband's will stipulates that she is to get £40 a year, which is the sum agreed in the Contract of Separation. It's not a large sum - £40 in 1822 is (according to various online calculators) equivalent to £3500 to £5000 today, which is nothing like enough to keep her, let alone keep her in comfort.
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Offline silvery

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 19 February 19 16:59 GMT (UK) »
Interesting, thanks.

The first codicil in the husband's will stipulates that she is to get £40 a year, which is the sum agreed in the Contract of Separation. It's not a large sum - £40 in 1822 is (according to various online calculators) equivalent to £3500 to £5000 today, which is nothing like enough to keep her, let alone keep her in comfort.

Ooh I don't know.   It's a tidy income in 1822.   Worth as income or wealth £35,000 to  £48,000.    (Measuring worth website)
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Offline Forfarian

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Re: Contract of Separation
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 19 February 19 17:16 GMT (UK) »
Hmmm. Quite hard to compare, then, because what one has to look at is the purchasing power of £40 in 1822.
Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.