Which Clauses Should Be Reviewed before Signing a Divorce Settlement?
Maintenance, arrangements for children, payment terms and matrimonial property waivers in a divorce settlement are assessed separately. Conditions for implementation abroad are examined additionally.
First, it must be understood which issues the settlement resolves and which it leaves open. The financial consequences of divorce, children's arrangements and matrimonial property claims should not be combined indiscriminately under the same heading. Payment timing, currency, allocation of expenses and method of performance matter as much as the amount. The scope of general wording such as 'we have no claims against each other' cannot be treated as harmless without seeing the document.
Children's care and contact arrangements and matters such as changes of school or country should be addressed in a form that can be implemented in future. The parents' signatures do not remove the judge's assessment of the child's interests. An agreement concerning the matrimonial property regime does not have to be included in the divorce settlement; if the parties address it, however, the asset or claim concerned and what is agreed must be clear. Transfer of real property or a procedure abroad is not always completed merely by including one sentence in the settlement.
The draft should be reviewed alongside existing judgments, known assets and the intended outcome. For provisions to be used in another country, its recognition or implementation requirements may require separate investigation. Signing on the basis of oral explanations or an earlier example without seeing the final text is inappropriate.
