What can you accomplish through a Marital Separation and Property Separation Agreement? More than you might think.
The end of a marriage is never a pleasant time for anyone involved, but by working towards positive goals despite the circumstances, much delay, expense, and stress can be avoided. With a properly drafted agreement, a couple can agree on child support payments, child visitation, property division, how to deal with debts obtained during the marriage, how to dispose of (or who should get) the marital residence, who should receive pension plans and in what amounts, how to settle future disputes that may arise, and how to divide property to account for tax consequences.
Imagine leaving all of this for the courts – the impersonal courts – to decide!
Your trusted Norfolk and Virginia Beach Family Lawyer is best equipped to streamline this process for you. Your cooperation will be needed, but the difficult work will be left up to your experienced Norfolk Divorce Attorney. How Would a Marital Settlement Agreement Help You? You may be wondering what your rights are, especially if your spouse is leaving you with few answers as to his or her intentions. A Marital Settlement Agreement will lead to a less stressful process down the road, because the court proceedings will be much less complex, and the court will not have to ponder whether you and your spouse’s situation is an “uncontested” divorce. Whether a divorce is “contested” or uncontested” carries enormous implications. Your Virginia Beach Divorce Lawyer must hear the facts of your case from you before advising you of any of your legal rights. Time is very valuable in domestic relations cases, and as such, don’t delay in consulting a trusted Virginia Beach or Norfolk Family Attorney for a free meeting. Your Marital Settlement Agreement need not be filed with the court to be effective, at least when initially executed. Your lawyer will play a critical role, however, in advising you whether to include a statement that the agreement is meant and intended to “survive” a subsequent divorce judgment as a separate contract, or whether it is more advantageous for you to treat that agreement as one that may be merged into a later divorce judgment. The latter option would allow for a future modification. The choice you make must be determined after much thought, and ideally, after a consultation or series of consultations with your Virginia Beach and/or Norfolk Family Attorney. He is ready to take on your most complicated and sensitive matters; he’s seen most everything before, and even if the facts of your case are embarrassing or confidential in nature, you can rest assured that your lawyer is under an obligation to do everything in his power to keep those facts private.
