Will spending a weekend with my spouse put my divorce in trouble?
Answer: The reason people file for divorce is typically because they feel that they are no longer able live their lives alongside the same person for some reason or the other. There is time during the divorce proceedings for spouses to reconcile and dismiss the case and that can definitely happen during divorce cases. Doing so will not necessarily affect the case negatively if you do not reconcile, unless you start making negative claims about the other spouse like safety issues that do not match up with the fact that you just spent time with that person romantically.
Can you enforce an agreement that is made verbally?
Answer: You may be honest, so may be your spouse. But divorce can sometimes turn into a game of unfair advantage and manipulation; there verbal agreements don’t really count for scratch. What courts look at is your settlement agreements that are written down. So make sure you make no financial settlement outside of the settlement papers because proving it might prove to be a tough ask for you. Put all agreements in a signed writing!
Is an uncontested divorce with an agreement that is notarized worth it?
Answer: An uncontested divorce can happen, but you’ll need to list down all things from the notarized agreement in your divorce papers. If you don’t, there will be a problem, when you fill in your Orange County divorce papers for an uncontested divorce, they ask you if the agreement is complete. So any agreement that is made outside of this is not as enforceable as anything written down on this piece of paper. So if you want to avoid future problems, make sure everything is put into the divorce judgment.
Can I agree to anything outside the court order and have it enforced?
Answer: Simply put the answer to your question is NO! Beware of out of court order settlements because you may not be able to enforce them at a later date if those promises are not fulfilled. A settlement agreement is a comprehensive document and when you specify anything in it, and it is passed down as a court order it becomes enforceable. Again, put all agreements into a signed writing!
Can we have a settlement agreement not filed with the court?
Answer: Settlement agreements conducted between two spouses are not a decree unless and until they are filed with the court and the judge either order them or the court issues them. Enforcing an incomplete settlement is going to be a big problem.
Is there a need to get the services of a lawyer for a binding marital settlement agreement?
Answer: The answer is that you should use legal counsel to draft a comprehensive and enforceable agreement. Marital settlement agreements need to be submitted along with other divorce documents in the court and will be issued by the court as an order. This can be a tricky area as any mistake can be legally binding so the need for a lawyer is a must.
Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.
