11 Tips for Creating a Divorce Settlement Agreement

When the concession of making a divorce by mutual agreement is reached, a document must be made which must have minimum guidelines. That document is called a divorce settlement agreement.

Marriages can come to an end for different reasons, and sometimes it is preferred to do so by mutual agreement. A mutual agreement is easier but not exempt from a judicial process so that the separation is legal, giving way to the dissolution of the marriage bond, which must carry a divorce settlement agreement, also called a matrimonial ending.

The legal document establishes the terms of the divorce, which are agreements between the spouses; they are very important and very useful when you have children. It is common to find within this document issues such as custody of children, alimony, visits to children, and others such as the distribution of assets and all the issues that the couple considers relevant.

When it is decided to make a document of divorce by mutual agreement, it is more unlikely that it will be necessary to reach the instances where a court is the one that has to intervene in the said process. There is a greater probability of acceptance, and after being signed, it could be declared as a final decree of the matrimonial dissolution.

What to do when creating a divorce settlement agreement:

11 Tips for creating a divorce settlement agreement.

1. In order to proceed to make the divorce agreement, it must have been at least three months from the day on which the marriage was celebrated if this is complied with and you can proceed to make a demand with the regulatory agreement.
2. The demands of a divorce attorney made jointly by the lawyer and the spouses must be accompanied by a regulatory agreement which must include the following: statement about the dissolution of the cohabitation of the couple, who will be granted custody of their children, as well as all the parameters of the alimony, how the visits to the children will be regulated, place of residence of the minors, how to settle the income that was obtained in the marriage, to whom the trousseau and the dwelling are attributed, among other issues.
3. It is important to start writing the agreement with the names and surnames, with their respective identity documents of the parties involved.
4. Then the date on which the marriage was celebrated must be written.
5. If separation precedes the divorce, the date of the latter must be stated, explaining the reasons that led to this.
6. Next, it should be written that both parties wish to be bound by the divorce settlement agreement. For example: “The wife and the husband wish…,” and then list the agreements.
7. It includes the distribution of assets and the distribution of debts – if there is much or little of these – alimony, visits, and custody of the children.
8. The agreement must be drafted by the lawyer in conjunction with the spouses and then be presented to the judge, who later will be responsible for summoning those involved to ratify the signature. If one of the parties does not appear, this process will be archived.
9. In case of ratification, the process will continue in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will thoroughly check that everything is in order and without alterations.
10. Then proceed to send a sentence to the parties where it is confirmed if everything is fine or if flaws were found; if it is the first thing, the marriage bond will be dissolved and if it is the second, people have a period of 10 days to present new documentation. Together with the sentence, all the original documentation that has been contributed is returned.
11. If over time you see that the regulatory agreement that was approved no longer matches the reality, you can submit an application to be modified; this can be done by the spouses or by the Fiscal Ministry itself. There must be a significant variation of the circumstances.

Before creating a divorce settlement agreement

• This is an informative article. Consult with your family lawyer, who will advise and help you in the best way.
• Separations and divorce processes can be very difficult, and even more so if you have children in common. That is why it is important to get advice from those who know, such as lawyers and psychologists.
• Divorce proceedings can vary greatly depending on the country of residence.
• Make a regulatory agreement is best at the time of divorce. It will facilitate coexistence between the family after the dissolution of the marriage bond is given. It will always be better than the surprise of a sentence.