Oregon Marital Settlement Agreement

After you have completed all of your mediation sessions and all issues have been resolved, Matthew House will write a comprehensive Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) to be included with your divorce paperwork.

The MSA is a binding contract once you sign it. It becomes part of a legal judgment when the judge finalizes the divorce paperwork that includes the MSA.

What is a Marital Settlement Agreement?

Many people do not know that a Marital Settlement Agreement can be attached to your divorce forms. That means that you are not limited to addressing only the questions that the state forms require, nor are you limited to only the options that the forms may present. Your agreement is like an instruction manual that you can refer to when you need to remember the steps to solve a problem in the future. The difference is that it is written for you and tailored to your particular specifications, instead of a one-size-fits all document.

Why is the drafting of a Marital Settlement Agreement important?

• Many people can fill out a template, but one must be experienced at drafting legally significant phrasing to go beyond the four corners of the template.

• Even one vague or misplaced word can make the difference between an interpretation you intend and one you are trying to avoid.

• Worse yet, having the wrong wording could make that provision legally unenforceable if one of you ever disputed it in the future.

• Matthew will ensure that it is done correctly; he has many years of experience with nuanced phrasing.

• Matthew focuses on details that the divorce forms and most other mediators leave out.

How do you modify a Marital Settlement Agreement later?

Once the Marital Settlement Agreement has been included in your divorce paperwork, submitted to the Circuit Court, and finalized by a judge, it is largely final and non-modifiable. There are a few exceptions:

• If there has been any fraud or intentional concealment, the case can be reopened and the property settlement can be amended by court order.

• If there has been an unintentional omission of information, or if you have overlooked an asset or debt that should have been acknowledged in the MSA, the case can be reopened on that limited basis.

• If your circumstances have changed significantly and you believe it is appropriate to ask a judge to change the amount of your child support payments or to modify the amount or duration of your spousal support payments, you can file a modification motion at a future date to make that formal request to the court.

• If you wish to change the parenting time schedule or other aspects of the parenting plan, you can file a motion to modify the judgment. It can be filed as simple paperwork if both parties agree on the changes. If one party wishes to change the parenting plan and the other disagrees, the dispute can be settled through mediation or decided by a judge (but you will be required to attempt mediation in good faith before proceeding to court).