I wanted to talk about whether a divorce settlement is legally binding in this post. Why? Because somebody found this blog using those exact search terms which they typed into a search engine: “is a divorce settlement legally binding?”
I thought about the questions when I read the search terms and I realized that the person probably didn’t get a good answer from this blog. They should have. So, for the sake of making amends, here goes.
The short answer to the questions is, yes, divorce settlement agreements are typically legally binding. Let’s get into why.
The “Definition” of Marriage
Caveat: the law changes from state-to-state and you should talk to an experienced family law lawyer in your area for further clarification. Now that I’ve gotten that disclaimer out-of-the-way I’ll give you my general opinion on the matter.
A divorce settlement agreement, marital settlement agreement, dissolution of marriage agreement, or whatever term your state uses to define the agreement, is typically a legally binding contract.
To define the term more succinctly, let me back-up a little.
Most states define marriage as something like this: a civil contract between two consenting adults who have the “capacity” to enter into the contract. As you can see, the law views the actual marriage itself as a contract.
What contract are you entering into when you get married? Good question. This is where the law can get tricky. The legal rights and remedies associated with a marital contract do vary from state-to-state. However, I’ll generalize and say that the contract allows you to share assets and debts equally. This means that the married couple becomes a “civil union” where, legally, they are viewed as one.
So, we know that the couple entered into a legally binding contract when they got married. The next question is: “how do I get out of that contract?”
Can you guess? That’s right, by entering into a new contract: the divorce settlement agreement.
The Definition of a Divorce Settlement Agreement
The divorce settlement agreement is a legally binding contract used to dissolve the marriage contract. Pretty simple.
Like all contracts, it must be entered into by consenting adults with capacity. Capacity means that the adults are not mentally handicapped in some way that would make either of the former spouses unable to understand what they were doing when they signed the document. Furthermore, the former spouses must not be coerced, in any way, by duress, fraud, or some form of “undue influence.” This means that the former spouses cannot be bullied into signing the contract.
Generally, that is how you make a legally binding contract: adult, consent, capacity.
So, if you are an adult, with capacity, who has not been bullied into the divorce settlement agreement, it can be very difficult to set the agreement aside – thus making it a “legally binding” contract.
What are some avenues of attack against the Divorce Settlement Agreement?
As I stated, it’s pretty tough to set-aside a divorce settlement agreement. The party who is trying to set the agreement aside is going to need to prove that the agreement is invalid.
If a person who entered into the contract can prove that they entered into it via duress, fraud, or undue influence, then maybe they can get a judge to set the agreement aside or modify it. I say maybe because the burden of proof is high – real high.
Some facts that might help a party who is trying to set aside a divorce settlement agreement might include a showing that a husband or wife threatened violence if the other person didn’t sign it. Or, that the former spouse had their attorney draft the agreement up and the attorney somehow coerced the unrepresented person into signing the agreement. (This is a tough one to prove). Also, a showing of evidence that either the husband or the wife was on drugs or mentally incapacitated can be good, solid evidence used for getting a judge to set the agreement aside.
One of the best facts for possibly setting aside the divorce settlement agreement is that one of the former spouses hid assets from the other during the divorce settlement negotiation process and, therefore, the assets were not contemplated or included in the divorce settlement agreement. This is a big no-no and it typically constitutes fraud.
So, there you have it. I hope I answered the searcher’s question(s). Take it from me, a Apple Valley MN family law attorney, you need to talk with an experienced, licensed attorney in your state about these issues if you are trying to set-aside a legally binding divorce settlement agreement.
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