There is no need to share the whole case but Divorce Agreements, like any settlement agreeements, should be drafted carefully so that another round of litigation does not start later. Having said that, here are my suggestions:
- List all possible contentions that can come in the future and address them in the agreement. Example, if alimony is not one-time but monhtly maintenance is part of the agreement, then will it remain the same if husband's income increases or if the wife's salary increases/decreases?
- Have a section that both parties have disclosed all facts and any fact not disclosed shall not be grounds for termination of the agreement. Very often a fresh round of litigation starts on grounds that one party misrepresented facts to the other party when settling issues.
- Spend at least one week on reviewing the draft provided by the other party. You need to think over every term carefully. Do not rush into a settlement.
- Have at least two advocates review the final version.
- Specify the venue of the Court to approach in case there is a dispute over the settlement agreement.
- There are numerous other standard terms... Example: Both parties agree that they were given sufficient time to review the agreement and consulted advocates, both parties agree that they have signed the agreement without any kind of coercion and after consulting family elders and advocates...
- Also, both parties agree that the party violating the agreement shall be liable to pay five times (or whatever you think is reasonable) of the total cost of approaching the Court for enforcing the agreement if the other party violates it. This is a deterrent to violate the agreement.
- There is a saying that the Devil is in the details. So... make sure that the details in the agreement are in your favor.
I hope you get the point... Disclaimer: I am not an advocate.
