Marital Settlement Agreement For Uncontested Tampa Divorces
A Marital Settlement Agreement is a written contract created by a couple who plan to divorce, often times with the help of a divorce attorney, in which their assets, debts, and property of marriage are divided between both parties. The MSA (as the Marital Settlement Agreement is rightly called) sets forth the marital rights of both parties, addresses issues of child custody, and can even settle spousal alimony.
The Marital Settlement Agreement is filed with your local clerk of court and is reviewed by a judge. If the judge determines the agreement to be fair to both parties, then the judge gives the seal of approval in respect to the terms stated the agreement and the divorce is approved.
Each state has its own divorce procedures, that must be adhered to before filing the MSA. In Florida, the Marital Settlement Agreement often covers:
- Division of properties and assets including the home, vehicles, valuables and other household items.
- Child custody u0026amp; visitation schedule.
- Costs each party should contribute to the health, welfare, and education of shared children, including child support payments.
- Spousal support payments that are owed to either party and for how long.
- Separation of debits and credit card accounts.
- Legal name change (i.e. wife wishes to return to using maiden name post-divorce).
Resolution of health care costs for spouse and/or children.
Do I Need A Divorce Lawyer To File A Marital Settlement Agreement?
An experienced divorce lawyer can be beneficial to either help draft or review your Marital Settlement Agreement. Drawing from experience of divorce cases and knowing what should be included in the MSA plus how property should be fairly divided can help couples going through an uncontested divorce avoid any delays in their paperwork by ensuring the documents they submit to the court are well in order.
With uncontested divorces, where only a Marital Settlement Agreement is needed, a single attorney can be hired, rather than one for each party, since the primary issue is making sure paperwork is properly completed and filed.