When you agree to settle in a divorce case in consultation with your lawyer that is often a cause for celebration. However, if you aren’t careful enough you may end up regretting the agreement. Two spouses reach an agreement to settle in divorce, one of the spouses after the agreement changes their mind on the agreement. This is a common occurrence.
There are many reasons that the person who has signed the agreement may change their mind on it after a while. Whatever it may be, in contracting terms this act is known as the buyer’s remorse. Here are a few tips for you to follow before you sign the marital settlement agreement.
Understand the Marital Settlement Agreement before you have read it
If at one point of time you find yourself with a settlement agreement document in front of you that you and your lawyer are alien to is the recipe for a disaster. Before the settlement agreement will have been drawn up there must have been a number of detailed deliberations between the two spouses and their lawyers. It is through the course of those negotiations and back and forth of offers that you need to be attentive and aware. You should know what you are agreeing to even before it is agreed and its repercussions.
Give the Agreement a thorough read
This is common sense and unfortunately in some cases that too isn’t very common. Before you sign an agreement and give it your assent the least you can do is give it a detailed thorough read. There is no need to feel pressured about signing a document. You need to take your time, highlights sections you find ambiguous talk to your Orange County divorce lawyer about it before agreeing to it.
Make sure that you are agreeing to an agreement that is practicable for you
When you enter into a divorce settlement agreement you are assuming responsibility to perform the tasks that are laid down in the agreement. This will include matters of child custody, child visitations, spousal support, division of assets etc. When you get into such an agreement you are accepting that the agreement is now legally binding over you.
This is a tricky situation to be in and one where any misstep that is not part of the settlement agreement can be challenged in court and the agreement to its letter and spirit enforced by the family law courts. Hence it is important that the agreement you agree on is practicable for you.
Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.
