Why drafting a marital settlement agreement is the most important service California Legal Document Assistants, mediators, and financial advisors can provide their divorce clients

by Ed Sherman

If you are a Legal Document Assistant, mediator, or financial planner who provides divorce services in California, you probably know that the settlement agreement is the heart of your client's case. With a signed agreement, your clients are 90% done with their divorce—all that's left is some paperwork to get a judgment.

Often, a lot of money can be gained or lost depending on how things are handled in the settlement agreement, especially if significant assets, debts, or support are involved. Careful planning, problem solving and drafting can save your clients thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

Here are some of the many benefits your clients will gain with a well-drafted settlement agreement:

With an agreement, they probably won't have to go to court. Without one, they almost certainly will.

Essentially, the settlement agreement becomes their Judgment, and they will be ordered to comply with its terms. This allows your clients to decide everything ahead of time and have total control of the Judgment, instead of letting the judge decide everything.

With a settlement agreement your clients can get far more depth, detail, flexibility, and protection.

If their community property is worth more than $5,000, a settlement agreement is the only way your clients can arrange for unequal division, if this is what they agree is fair.

Once signed, their divorce is mostly finished except for some red tape and paperwork.

Perhaps most important, divorces that are settled by good agreements usually work out better afterward—spouses are more likely to comply with terms, have better post-divorce relationships, better co-parenting, and faster healing.

If you're not already providing this valuable service to your clients, I encourage you to consider how drafting settlement agreements can increase your income and expand the range of services you offer. You can use professional software to draft settlement agreements without risking unauthorized practice of law.

Copyright 2007 Ed Sherman

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Ed Sherman is a family law attorney, divorce expert, and founder of Nolo Press. He started the self-help law movement in 1971 when he published the first edition of How to Do Your Own Divorce, and founded the paralegal industry in 1973. Ed has saved the public billions of dollars in legal fees while making divorce go more smoothly and easily for millions of readers. He created DealMaker PRO Settlement Agreement Software to fill a need in the California Legal Document Assistant industry. Order at DealMaker PRO or by calling (800) 464-5502.