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Contact Our Irvine Divorce Settlement Law Firm for the Dissolution of Your Marriage
The filing of a petition for divorce and its service upon the other party begins the divorce process, which will end in the dissolution of the marriage. However, this process requires the parties to reach many agreements and make compromises before the divorce order is final. In the legal world, this process is known as “settlement” — i.e., the process by which two adversarial parties to a legal proceeding voluntarily agree on certain matters. An Irvine divorce attorney can help you reach a settlement agreement with your spouse.
Elements of a Divorce Settlement Agreement
Ideally, a settlement agreement will resolve all of the important issues in the divorce. If complete resolution through a settlement is not possible, the parties may be able to settle as to some matters, but ask the divorce court to resolve others. A divorce settlement agreement may include any of the following provisions (and more):
When the parties to a divorce reach a settlement, its terms will be incorporated into the divorce decree, thereby becoming a legally enforceable order. If either party violates one or more of the terms of the settlement agreement, the other party may use the agreement to petition the court for an order to enforce it. For more information about enforcing the provisions of a divorce settlement agreement, please contact an Irvine divorce attorney.
When to Settle
Settlement can occur at any point during the divorce process. In fact, the law actually encourages divorcing couples to resolve as many of their disagreements as they can voluntarily before seeking judicial intervention. However, even the most contested divorces can be resolved in a settlement.
Divorcing couples should enter into settlement agreements only when they have enough information to make an informed decision. For example, assume that one spouse owns a business, while the other spouse is a stay-at-home parent. In a divorce, each spouse is entitled to half of the marriage’s community property (property acquired during the marriage). In the example above, the spouse must know how much the business is worth in order to divide it fairly. As such, divorcing couples should generally consider settlement only after extensive discovery has occurred.
How Do Couples Arrive at a Settlement Agreement?
Reaching a divorce settlement can take many months of negotiations between the parties and their lawyers. While a divorcing couple may be able to work out their issues on their own, that is usually not the case. Some couples may have such an unhealthy relationship that dealing with one another directly is impossible, and others may have assets so extensive and valuable that they would prefer to leave the property division to a professional. Whatever the case may be, mediation is often an effective tool for arriving at a settlement agreement. In divorce mediation, the spouses and their attorneys hire a neutral third party (called a mediator) to meet with them and help them resolve contentious issues through a variety of creative problem-solving exercises. This type of conflict resolution generally works best for couples who approach it in good faith and are willing to compromise.
Contact Our Orange County Divorce Settlement Attorneys Today
The Irvine divorce attorneys at Seastrom Law understand that discretion is necessary when handling divorce cases in California, particularly where the parties involved are high net worth individuals or celebrity clients. Because we understand the sensitive nature of these issues, we guide our clients through the process in a manner that eliminates unwanted attention and ensures that the divorce is handled quickly and efficiently. Call 949-474-0800 today or contact us online.
Common Questions About Divorce Settlement Agreements in Orange County
What does a marital settlement agreement need to cover?
Everything the parties want resolved, because whatever it omits is either left open or governed by default rules neither side chose. A complete agreement identifies and characterizes every asset and debt, states who receives what and how transfers will actually occur, sets any equalizing payment with a date and a consequence for nonpayment, addresses spousal and child support with a modification standard, allocates tax attributes and liabilities, and provides for retirement plan orders. It should also say what happens to an asset neither party disclosed, which is the provision that saves the most trouble later.
Is a settlement agreement enforceable once both spouses sign?
Signing creates a contract, but the practical remedies come from having it entered as a judgment. Once the agreement is incorporated into a judgment, the court’s enforcement powers become available, including contempt, wage assignment, and orders compelling transfer of specific property. Before entry, the agreement is enforceable as a contract but by a slower route. This is why the drafting and the entry of judgment should not be treated as separate projects that drift apart, and why deadlines in the agreement should run from entry rather than from signature.
What are the tax consequences of dividing property in a divorce?
Transfers of property between spouses incident to divorce are generally not taxable events, but they carry the original cost basis with them, which means two assets of equal present value can be worth materially different amounts after tax. A retirement account and a brokerage account with the same balance are not the same asset. Support has its own treatment, and payments to a spouse under agreements executed after 2018 are neither deductible by the payer nor taxable to the recipient under current federal law. Whether a division should be measured before or after the tax each side will eventually pay is argued rather than settled, and California courts divide value rather than after-tax value unless a party raises the tax and proves it. The spouse who wants the tax accounted for has to put it in front of the court, which is a reason to work the question during the negotiation.
What if a spouse does not comply with the settlement?
The judgment is enforceable, and the tools depend on the obligation. Unpaid support can be collected through wage assignment, levy, liens, license holds, and contempt, and it accrues interest at the statutory judgment rate. A refusal to transfer property can be met with an order compelling execution of documents, or with an order authorizing the clerk to sign on the party’s behalf. Attorney fees are frequently awarded against the party who forced the enforcement proceeding. Agreements that anticipate this, by setting deadlines, securing payments, and specifying a fee provision, are considerably easier to enforce than those that assume compliance.
About the Firm
Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader is a family law firm in Irvine representing clients throughout Orange County, and in Los Angeles County. The firm practices family law exclusively. Its attorneys include Fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and attorneys certified as specialists in family law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Call 949.474.0800 to discuss a divorce settlement with the firm.
