Severance /(?)/

Sev·er·ance

Severance

n.
  1. The act of severing, or the state of being severed; partition; separation.
  2. The act of dividing; the singling or severing of two or more that join, or are joined, in one writ; the putting in several or separate pleas or answers by two or more disjointly; the destruction of the unity of interest in a joint estate. (Law)