Divorces can involve a great deal of negotiations. One such type of negotiations are the negotiations involved in getting a written agreement in place regarding financial matters in a divorce, such as property division and support.
These sorts of negotiations can be very complex, can sometimes get rather tense and can sometimes end up touching on some pretty major conflict points. Thus, negotiations over financial matters in a divorce can sometimes leave a person feeling stressed and overwhelmed.
This can leave a person having a strong desire to get the negotiation process done with and a written financial settlement in place as soon as possible. There are many things this desire could cause a person to be tempted to do. One is to make some concessions to the other party in the written settlement in exchange for an unwritten promise or expectation that the other party will do something in particular for them in the future.
However, leaving things out of the written divorce settlement and instead leaving them to such a “handshake deal” can be very problematic for a divorcing individual. For one, when a given promise or expectation regarding a divorce financial matter is not in the eventual written divorce decree and settlement, a person’s legal options if their ex ends up failing to live up to the expectation or promise could be quite limited or even non-existent.
Skilled divorce attorneys understand the dangers that can be present when it comes to “handshake deals” in divorce financial matters and the importance of getting things down in writing when it comes to divorce financial matters. Such attorneys can provide divorcing individuals with help, advice and support during negotiations regarding what terms the eventual written settlement/arrangement in their divorce will contain.
Source: MainStreet, “3 Worst Financial Mistakes You Can Make in a Divorce,” Kathryn Tuggle, May 28, 2015