Severance and unemployment, do they overlap? - 2 months and counting

My employer is paying severance in instalments and I am not sure whether to file now. I worked as a payroll clerk before this. I also wonder about the job-search requirement. Who should I ask before signing?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 2 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.