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THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION
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The main goal of every divorce case is to reach an agreement with your spouse and to memorialize the terms of that agreement in a written and signed Marital Settlement Agreement. Depending on the issues in your case, the Marital Settlement Agreement must address a variety of issues. First, if children are involved, custody and parenting time must be consid- ered and addressed. The parties must identify if they are going to share joint legal custody as well as the des- ignation of the Parent of Primary Res- idence and the Parent of Alternate Residence. A parenting plan needs to be specified and this plan should include a regular schedule as well as a schedule for holidays, vacations and other school breaks. The Marital Settlement Agreement generally includes language which assures each parent’s continued right to access medical and health related records as well as school related records. Language is added to ensure each parent’s right to continue to be involved in the children’s school events and functions as well as extracurricular activities and sporting events. Any special circumstance or issue surrounding the children should be addressed in the Agreement. Other issues relating to the children must also be in the Agreement. Child support, contribution to camp, day care, activities, extraordinary activities, private school tuition and costs, health insurance and unreim- bursed health expenses need to be addressed. The issues surrounding college should also be included such as the manner for the selection of college, the allocation of college tuition payment as well as the par- ties’ understanding as to whether loans will be secured to fund college. Life insurance is another issue that must be addressed as there must be enough insurance to secure both the child support and college contribu- tion obligations. The definition of emancipation should be spelled out and any special needs of the child which would alter or delay emanci- pation must be considered. If alimony is involved in the settle- ment, the Agreement must provide the amount to be paid and the dura- tion of the payment. Circumstances of when it is to end or be reviewed must be addressed. Provisions regard- ing modifiability or non-modifiability are also important elements to con- sider. Life insurance to secure the alimony must be included in the Agreement. The Agreement also must identify each and every asset and debt and allocate them. This includes real estate, mortgages, lines of credit, home equity loans, timeshares, auto- mobile loans, investment property, credit cards, retirement assets, employment provided assets, student loans as well as ownership interests in a business. Tax issues such as dependency deductions, tax credits, rebates and other tax considerations must be addressed. Future participation in mediation in the event of a dispute or the involve- ment of a parent coordinator for cus- tody and parenting time issues are standard clauses as well as an agree- ment that the breaching party pays for the non-breaching party's coun- sel fees in the event of a breach and a resulting enforcement application to the Court. The Marital Settlement Agreement is a very important document as it is the roadmap for your post-divorce life. It is crucial that all issues impor- tant to you and relevant in your case are addressed, resolved and con- tained in your Agreement. STANDARD PROVISIONS OF A MARITAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT By: Jeralyn L. Lawrence, Esq. Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A. Jeralyn L. Lawrence jllawrence@nmmlaw.com 400 Crossing Boulevard . 8th Floor Bridgewater, NJ 08807 t: 908-252-4278 • f: 908-722-0755 www.nmmlaw.com www.theconnectionsnj.com