Stipulation of Settlement

The Stipulation of Settlement addresses both economic and custodial issues. Financial provisions deal with equitable distribution of real property, including the marital home, retirement assets, pensions, businesses, marital debt, vehicles, as well as ongoing financial arrangements including spousal support and child support. Parenting provisions cover such other items as child custody, emancipation, weekly and holiday parenting schedules, and specific clauses protecting and supporting the children.  

While certain issues are required in a legal Stipulation of Settlement, the parties are free to use their discretion and imagination to address these issues. Parties can also raise any unique concerns they want in their agreement, and the mediation attorney can help them discern their goals and then will craft language accordingly.

The parties may develop decisions through Child Custody Mediation, Child Support Mediation, and Equitable Distribution Mediation. Regardless of how parties arrive at agreement, the Stipulation of Settlement contains all the decisions together in one document.

Divorce provisions often affect one another. A decision involving equitable distribution, such as the way a certain asset is divided, may affect spousal support. A parenting arrangement may affect financial obligations and even the district where children enroll in school.

Issues remain open while the spouses compare different combinations during mediation. This approach helps both parties understand the full effect, and interrelatedness of their decisions. Parties are encouraged to think creatively and brainstorm possible solutions. Each mediation participant is given the opportunity to fully express their goals and concerns and think through different scenarios. This comprehensive, wholistic approach can protect spouses from later regrets that they rushed into something they didn’t fully understand, or left something on the table because they didn’t know it was an option. It also reduces the risk that one provision will later be interpreted in isolation, without expressly identifying the tradeoff that shaped it. In mediation parties enjoy the same rules and freedoms that govern a settlement conference; they can speak candidly, explore options and disclose concerns, knowing that no decision is set in stone until such time as it is reduced to a written agreement and properly executed by both parties.

A comprehensive Stipulation of Settlement includes the details that matter to both spouses and upon which their decisions were based. Thus, not only does it become a clarifying instrument and dependable record of the agreed-to terms, the agreement provides peace of mind that everything resides on the pages and need not be constantly revisited. The more complete an agreement, the greater parties’ confidence that they made informed decisions based on accurate, current information. 

The document may also preserve the context behind a temporary or unusual arrangement. That context gives both spouses a common record of what they decided and reduces uncertainty when questions arise later.

Mediation allows spouses to review their full, proposed agreement while continuing to examine and elaborate on components of the agreement. Once the provisions are settled, Alexander Mediation Group prepares the Stipulation of Settlement in the manner and form required for submission to the court.  

Spouses review the agreement with the mediator and are provided copies of the initial draft.  The parties have ample time to review, comment on, and propose edits to the agreement. Should the parties need to flesh out or further negotiate any term, they can return to mediation as needed prior to finalizing a draft. Once the parties are satisfied with the agreement, they are encouraged to take it to separate review attorneys. Changes or additions recommended by their respective attorneys may be incorporated into the final draft, subject to agreement by the parties.