A separation agreement can be negotiated in a few different ways, depending on the family dynamics. A separation agreement can be negotiated using a Collaborative process. It can be negotiated in Mediation, with or without lawyers present. It may be through a “traditional” Lawyer-to-Lawyer negotiation between parties with the help of their lawyers, which can include 4 way settlement meetings (these are in-person or virtual meetings with the parties and each of their lawyers), and discussions between the lawyers.
Separation Agreements have serious long-term consequences. The settlement terms contained in your Separation Agreement will shape your future finances, parenting arrangements.
Our goal is to empower our clients to make the right decisions about their children and their finances. We provide our clients with reliable legal advice and clear legal information to help them make these important decisions.
For most separating families, the goal is a comprehensive Separation Agreement that sets out each party’s rights and obligations.
In order to be binding and enforceable, a Separation Agreement must contain two components:
1. Full and complete financial disclosure of both parties, including proof of income and assets on particular dates; and
2. A Certificate of Independent Legal Advice for each of the two parties.
Without these two components being met, a Separation Agreement can be set aside later on by a Judge in Court. The more one-sided a Separation Agreement is, the more important it is to make sure there has been full Financial Disclosure. A one-sided Separation Agreement will make Courts suspicious that one spouse was not fully aware of what they were agreeing to, and less than full financial disclosure makes the Separation Agreement vulnerable to being set aside. In our firm, we generally cannot give Independent Legal Advice on Separation Agreements where the financial disclosure is lacking or incomplete.
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