Help With Separation Agreements From a Virginia Family Law Attorney
If you are contemplating a divorce, consider this: if you and your spouse are able to agree on some or all of the many issues involved in a divorce, you should consider a separation agreement. These also materialize under various names: stipulation and property settlement agreement, marriage settlement agreement, etc. The simplest version of this is simply you and your spouse discussing the various issues, and then with the guidance of an experienced attorney, committing them to writing. If you can agree on all of the issues: one – you are very fortunate, and two – it would simplify your divorce greatly if you can agree on some, if not all. Any elements of the divorce to which you and your spouse can agree will simplify the ultimate procedure because there will not be as many issues to try in a contested hearing; and it will also reduce the cost and the emotional toll of having fewer things to battle over. You and your spouse know more about this case than the judge hearing it will ever know. So, the optimum solution is for the two of you to agree to as many issues as feasible. Then, under the guidance of a skilled divorce lawyer, perhaps the unresolved issues can be negotiated down to where there are fewer contested issues that remain.
A separation agreement would be the product of a negotiated resolution of some or all of the key matters of the divorce such as child custody and visitation, spousal support, property division, and other issues. Like a Prenuptial Agreement, it would lay the groundwork for a smooth resolution, and avoid the bitter court battles that can take months to complete and cost thousands of dollars.
At Alleman Law Group, PLC the Staunton, VA lawyers have vast experience helping clients create and finalize separation agreements. Whether you are going through a divorce or simply need a trial separation period, or wish to have a post-nuptial agreement, we can help you understand and effectively resolve the issues at hand.
A separation agreement has many benefits:
- It reduces the matters in contention
- It helps reduce or avoid lengthy and adversarial court proceedings
- It gives you and your spouse control over many of the important family decisions
- It is cheaper than divorce litigation and mediation
- It is a binding legal document, much less likely to be contested at a later point
For these and other reasons, we encourage all of our clients to consider if a separation agreement will assist their cause. We are determined to ensure that you understand all aspects of the divorce and help craft settlement agreements that best suit your needs and wishes. In any negotiation attempt towards a settlement, the main thing to remember is the operative word in settlement agreement is “AGREEMENT.”