Tampa Divorce Attorneys are routinely asked by their Clients about the meaning of the term “Marital Settlement Agreement” during the course of litigation. Many folks have frankly heard the term either through the litigation in their own case or through their own research on the internet on websites, like our site.
A Marital Settlement Agreement is simply a settlement agreement resolving the issues in dispute during a divorce. For example, a Marital Settlement Agreement or MSA, as they are more commonly known, can include issues relating to time sharing, alimony, equitable distribution of assets and debts, etc. A Tampa Divorce Attorney can draft a Marital Settlement Agreement at any point during your divorce case, but it will most likely be drafted either at mediation or prior to trial, when settlement negotiations reach a fever pitch.
Once a Marital Settlement Agreement is reached, one party, generally the Petitioner, must attend an uncontested final hearing. We discuss uncontested final hearings elsewhere on our Tampa Divorce Attorney blog, but for the sake of this article – they are very simple hearings, where the parties are only required to show that the Court has a jurisdictional basis to enter the final judgment of divorce. With regards to jurisdiction, the Court only must find that one of the parties lived in Florida for more than six (6) months prior to the filing of the divorce. This jurisdictional testimony is generally “proved up” by providing proof of a valid Florida driver’s license issued greater than six (6) months prior to the filing of the divorce.
If you or anyone you know has questions concerning their Tampa Divorce or a Marital Settlement Agreement, contact the Tampa Divorce Attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free consultation. We have worked on thousands of cases, including ones just like the case you are dealing with. There are three ways to contact our office. First, you can always contact our Office through our website, there is a link to our free, secure chat box in the lower right hand corner of our website. Secondly, the “contact us now” tab in the upper right hand corner of our website. One of our Tampa Divorce Attorneys will contact you shortly, once the email is received. Lastly, we have folks standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer your questions. We appreciate you taking the time to check out our website and we look forward to hearing from you.