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SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS

 

     In a manner of speaking, this is the GOAL of the entire divorce process.  The Settlement Agreement covers ALL of the issues of the divorce – assets, debts, custody, visitation (parenting time), child support, spousal support, health insurance, pensions, etc.

 

     Thus, much of the attorneys’ time and effort is spent negotiating and/or drafting the terms of this Agreement.

 

     Often, the parties can sit at the kitchen table with a notepad and decide between themselves how they want to divide the assets & debts, and how to handle the custody and parenting time with the kids, and what to do about child and/or spousal support.  When this happens, less of your money goes to the attorneys because a huge part of the process – the negotiations – gets resolved quickly. 

 

     Of course, this is not always possible.  But, attorneys and kitchen-table-talks are not mutually exclusive. 

 

     Here is a list of the main issues that a Settlement Agreement address:

  • Custody of the Children – joint or sole legal custody, one or both has physical custody, as well as relocation restrictions
  • Parenting Time – standard weekly, holidays (alternating years?), special days – e.g. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, summer vacations, etc., as well as transportation issues
  • Child Support
  • Other Expenses of Children – medical insurance, unreimbursed medical insurance expenses, extracurricular activities, etc.
  • Establishing who will claim the children as tax exemptions
  • College Expenses
  • Emancipation Definition (Termination of Child Support)
  • Spousal Support & Definition of Termination of Spousal Support
  • Health Insurance costs of the parties (you can not keep your ex-spouse on your insurance plan, even if you wanted to!)
  • House – choose between several options, including sale of house, or one party buys-out the other with a refinance or off-set with other assets; mortgage should be paid-off or refinanced
  • Division of bank & brokerage accounts
  • Division of future assets (e.g. pending lawsuits, tax refunds, etc.)
  • Division of retirement accounts (e.g. 401k’s, IRA’s)
  • Division of other retirement assets/streams of income (e.g. pensions, annuities)
  • Division of debt
  • Division of cars & car loans