Divorce Property Settlement Agreement

On backdrop of families getting smaller and smaller, divorce rate is on the rise. There were about 40% divorces in United States in the year 2008. Divorce is a result of low tolerance levels and myopic thinking. To make things worse, not every society accepts divorced people as they are. Especially in the Islamic and Eastern cultures, divorced couples are subjected to harsh treatment. Thus, no matter what your marital status is, financial independence is a must. Even if your marriage is dissolving, the other person does not have the right to cheat you off your property rights. So to make your life easier post marriage, a well defined divorce property settlement agreement is what you will need.

What is Divorce Property Settlement Agreement?
A divorce settlement agreement, is an agreement made by husband and wife, about agreed division of their assets. Property settlement in divorce, involves settlement of two types of properties, namely, marital property and separate property. Marital or community property means, the property that is bought by the couple while they were married, and separate property means, the property that was bought by either of the person, before the wedlock. There are several problems that may arise while dividing the properties, due to the way they were dealt with in the past. A good divorce lawyer will surely help you figure out, what lies in your best interests.

Draft of Divorce Property Settlements
This is not a real draft, but has been made to give you a fair idea of what the draft of your divorce property settlement agreement may consist of.

I (Husband's name) and I (wife's name), were married on (the date of your marriage). They were separated on (date of separation), following the irreparable damages to the marriage. We have, once and for all, mutually agreed to divide the property we have and release each other of any more debts and payments.

These are the general wordings of the draft. The contents will follow later such as:

Division of Community Property
(Name of the person/s) shall receive the mentioned items in the decided agreement.

• All household items, like furniture and furnishings located at (the address).
• All the cash saved in the joint account numbered (number) at the bank (name and address of the bank).
• The life insurance policies and the money invested per policy.
• All the retirement benefits and pension plans.

Division of Community Liabilities(Name of the person/s) shall pay the mentioned items in the decided agreement.

• Equal division of credit card bill dated (date) and the interest due on it.
• All the debt to be paid to (the name and address of the institution).

The marital properties too, shall be divided in a similar way. Again, this draft was just to give you an idea of the contents in the divorce property settlements agreement.

Why are Divorce Property Settlement Agreements Important?
If you are the parent who is bearing the child custody, its really unfair that only one parent has to put up with all the expenses of the child's need. Moreover, it would be unjust if the child has to suffer, only because both of you could not get along. Thus, getting your share of assets and paying off, your bit of liabilities is important, while fighting for a divorce. Divorce property settlement agreements are important from the point of view of your retirement benefits too.

Getting a divorce is not something one plans while getting married. Thus the whole process of separating comes as a rude shock. Nevertheless, as a divorce advice, you have to motivate yourself, to get the best out of it, firstly for yourself and for your child. Eventually, a mere divorce is not the end of the world, but a new beginning to a forgotten life!