Divorce Property Settlement

My name is Terry Bankert. I am a Flint Divorce Lawyer.

Did you know?

That a Flint Divorce or one in your area to be enforceable, a settlement must be placed on the record or memorialized in writing. MCR 2.507(G); see also Marshall v Marshall, 135 Mich App 702, 712–713, 355 NW2d 661 (1984); Massachusetts Indem & Life Ins Co v Thomas, 206 Mich App 265, 520 NW2d 708 (1994). Verbal agreement between the spouses are not enforceable.

A Flint Divorce area Court and your Courts are bound by property settlements reached through negotiation and agreement absent fraud, duress, or mutual mistake. Lentz v Lentz, 271 Mich App 465, 721 NW2d 861 (2006); Keyser v Keyser, 182 Mich App 268, 451 NW2d 587 (1990). The Court system wants you to make your own decisions.

In one case called Lentz, the court stated “[W]e will not rewrite or abrogate an unambiguous agreement negotiated and signed by consenting adults by imposing a ‘reasonable’ or ‘equitable’ inquiry on the enforceability of such agreements.” 271 Mich App at 478. When you have an agreement, write it down and sign it.

As a Flint Divorce Lawyer our court acts like your Family Law Court.In reviewing a property settlement agreement, the court must consider whether the agreement was entered into and signed freely, voluntarily, and understandingly, not whether the settlement is equitable. Lentz; Keyser. Do not bully your spouse into submission.

If the Flint Divorce Court or your local Court does not approve the proposed settlement, it must give the parties an opportunity to present proofs before judgment can be entered. Jones v Jones, 132 Mich App 497, 347 NW2d 756 (1984); Watson v Watson, 204 Mich App 318, 322, 514 NW2d 533 (1994). Once approved, however, modifications of property settlements in divorce judgments are disfavored. In Flint Divorce and elsewhere when you say it to the Judge in open court you are committed to its terms.

Where a settlement agreement is not merged into the judgment, parties retain a number of powerful remedies to enforce their agreement and remedies for fraud. These remedies are not available when a settlement is embodied directly in a judgment without a separate agreement. Foreman v Foreman, 266 Mich App 132, 701 NW2d 167 (2005); Grace v Grace, 253 Mich App 357, 655 NW2d 595 (2002).

Except for the important distinction between merged and nonmerged settlement agreements, most of the attributes of a settlement agreement apply equally to consent judgments and vice versa. See Thornton v Thornton, 277 Mich App 453, 746 NW2d 627 (2007) (consent judgment is contract and will be enforced absent factors such as fraud or duress).