Marital Settlement Agreements: A Checklist of What to Include in MSAs (Pt. 3)

Concluding our blog series Marital Settlement Agreements: A Checklist of What to Include in MSAs, below are some final items to include in comprehensive checklists for drafting effective marital settlement agreements.

Terms Regarding Payment Obligations

These terms of marital settlement agreements should specifically include information regarding:

• How much one parent must pay in child support on a monthly basis
• How long child support payments will continue
• Who will be responsible for covering the costs of a child’s medical care and/or education
• Whether either partner will be receiving spousal maintenance payments from the other and, if so, how much these payments will be
• How often spousal support (or alimony) payments will continue to be paid and under what conditions these payments will be terminated.

It’s important to point out that there may be no payment obligations in some divorce cases. For instance, when divorcing parties don’t share kids and neither side is seeking spousal support, this part of marital settlement agreements may simply state that there are no future payment obligations between the ex-partners.

Other Important Provisions to Include in Marital Settlement Agreements 

• Terms regarding what will happen to any marital businesses (or businesses one partner may have started during the course of the marriage)
• Terms regarding who will cover attorneys’ fees (and other litigation costs if they arise)
• Terms regarding how each party will file taxes moving forward (and how future refunds may be distributed)
• Terms regarding any events or actions that may render marital settlement agreements invalid
• Whether the terms of marital settlement agreements can be modified in the future (and, if so, what the process will be for making changes to MSAs)
• Terms regarding how marital settlement agreements will be enforced and what the consequences of noncompliance are.

There can be a lot more to consider and include in marital settlement agreements, so make sure you have an experienced attorney on your side to help you devise a comprehensive, favorably MSA.

Littleton, Colorado Divorce Lawyers at Bahr and Kreidle

If you are preparing to go through a divorce and are interested in pursuing a marital settlement agreement (as opposed to a traditional divorce), it’s time to contact the trusted Littleton divorce attorneys at Bahr and Kreidle.

Since 1983, our skilled and esteemed lawyers have been providing our clients with the highest quality legal services and helping them resolve their divorce cases as favorably and efficiently as possible.

Let’s Talk about Your Rights – Contact Us for a Free Consult

To learn more about your options for marital settlement agreements, contact us today to set up an initial consultation. You can set up a meeting by calling us at (303) 794-7422 or by emailing us using the form on this page.

From our law offices in Littleton, we represent clients throughout Colorado, including in the Denver Metro Area, Arapahoe County, Adams County, Jefferson County and the cities of Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Rock, Westminster, Centennial and Aurora.