Settlement Agreements
Almost every court favors settlement
agreements. When two parties are able
to settle an issue on their own, they
are likely to achieve a result satisfactory
to both of them, at least more so than
if a judge made the decision. For one
thing, settlement agreements enable each
party to participate with the same level
of care and attention to detail as they
would want in a perfect judicial proceeding.
Unfortunately, the pressures on judges
and the peculiarities of courtroom procedure
often make it difficult for all of the
details to be presented accurately and
weighted appropriately in the judicial
process. Thus, when parties write their
own settlement agreements, they probably
come closer to achieving a fair and reasonable
conclusion to their case than they would
under any other circumstances.
Settlement agreements can be made orally
or in writing. However, oral settlement
agreements are always fraught with problems
and subject to challenge. Written settlement
agreements should be reviewed and fine-tuned
by lawyers to make sure that they contain
the appropriate language. Even without
a pending court action, a settlement
agreement can be a binding contract,
if appropriately drafted and signed by
the parties. In most cases, the settlement
agreement will be filed with the court
as part of a final judgment of divorce,
or a stipulation of settlement.
Settlement
agreements come in many forms and many
styles. Litigants should not arbitrarily
copy each other’s settlement agreements
or extract language indiscriminately
from textbooks. The writing of a settlement
agreement is an important job that requires
legal expertise, and which may require
specific language in your state.
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