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Separation Agreements
A separation agreement
is a contract between a husband and wife who choose
to live separately. These agreements are entirely
voluntary and can address any matters incident to
the dissolution of a marriage, such as alimony,
child support, custody, marital property division,
and anything else the couple wants to include.
Separation agreements may include provisions for
obtaining a divorce after the required waiting
period has passed. However, these agreements do not
automatically lead to divorce. At The Weisbaum Law
Firm in Rockville, Maryland, I
draft separation agreements reflecting the needs and
wishes of the client. In my experience, these
agreements are the preferred method for settling
issues in advance of a divorce, especially those
related to children and property. Parties can
include custody decisions, parenting plans, access
schedules and property division—who lives in the
house, who gets which car, how assets will be
divided, or in some instances shared.
Separation agreements
allow separating and divorcing parties to control
the decision-making process and take the guesswork
out of how they will move forward following a
separation. If the parties are able to resolve the
many issues that accompany a separation and divorce,
they can minimize the emotional and economic
disruption on themselves and their children as they
move forward in their lives. For more information
about Maryland separation agreements,
contact me
at The Weisbaum Law Firm for a free initial
consultation.
Mediation and
collaborative law can help parties create win-win
separation agreements
I know that divorce
has incalculable emotional effects on the family.
Financial implications can be almost as daunting. It
is important to have a knowledgeable attorney to
help work through the details and implications of
the many issues encompassed in a comprehensive
separation agreement. Collaborative law and
mediation are ideal for arriving at agreements that
meet the needs of families dealing with separation
and divorce. I always urge divorcing clients to
resolve matters arising out of a separation or
divorce through alternative dispute resolution
techniques such as mediation or collaborative law.
This allows the parties to maintain control over the
outcome of the dispute and to avoid unnecessary
legal fees at a time when financial resources are
already stretched thin, rather than having the terms
of the separation and divorce imposed by a judge.
Enforcement and
modification of separation agreements in Maryland
The ability to enforce
or modify particular provisions of a separation
agreement may be limited by the circumstances under
which the agreement was reached, the specific
language used, or by the law. For instance, some
terms in a separation may be drafted to prevent
court modification, while others like child support,
custody and visitation can always be modified by the
court, if the court determines that doing so would
be in the best interest of the child. Separation
agreements are enforceable in the same way that any
contract is enforceable. When divorce follows, a
separation agreement and the terms of the agreement
may be incorporated in the final divorce decree
allowing the agreement to be enforced as an order of
the court. The ability to enforce a particular
separation agreement may depend on the knowledge and
skill of the attorney who drafted the agreement.
When you sign a separation agreement you need to
know that you are signing an agreement that will not
only accomplish your intended goals, but that it is
an agreement that can be enforced.
Challenging a
separation agreement
In addition to
preparing separation agreements, my law firm helps
individuals who wish to challenge such agreements.
Whether or not a specific part of the agreement can
be challenged depends on variety of factors. Every
agreement is different, and should be reviewed by an
attorney periodically, if it is not incorporated in
a later judgment of divorce. Separation agreements
may be challenged on grounds that the terms have
been obtained through duress or undue influence,
when there has been a mutual misunderstanding,
fraud, or because the agreement is so inequitable
that it “shocks the conscience”.
Avoid problems
during divorce with a separation agreement
A well considered and
drafted separation agreement provides divorcing
couples a foundation on which they can move forward,
secure in the knowledge that their wishes and
intentions will be spelled out clearly and will be
enforceable.
My Rockville law firm serves Maryland communities
such as Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown,
Bethesda, Potomac, Wheaton, Silver Spring, Chevy
Chase, Laurel and Frederick.
Contact me
to learn how I can help you with an enforceable
separation agreement.
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