How To Know Whether You Should Accept Your Spouse’s Proposed Separation Agreement or Settlement Offer in Ontario!

How To Know Whether You Should Accept Your Spouse’s Proposed Separation Agreement or Settlement Offer in Ontario!

How many times have you wondered whether you should accept your former spouse’s proposed separation agreement or settlement offer?

It can be difficult to decide whether you should like all or only some of the terms of their proposed settlement.

Hi, my name is Thomas O’Malley.  I’m an experienced family lawyer in Durham Region and the GTA.

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You can evaluate your former spouse’s proposed separation agreement or settlement offer by following a very methodical approach which involves a series of important questions to answer.

You must ask yourself a number of key questions to evaluate or assess whether you like your former spouse’s proposal about settling the issues in your separation or divorce:

1. How close is the proposed agreement to what you are looking for?

2. Does your spouse’s proposed agreement meet most of your goals that you have set based on your family lawyer’s advice and recommendations?

3. Is the proposed agreement fair and reasonable?

4. Is there anything missing from the agreement that’s worth the cost and time involved in continued negotiations?

5. Is your spouse likely to make additional concessions if you continue negotiating?

6. Are you willing to take the proposed settlement to end the time-consuming and expensive legal process?

7. Given what you know about what a family court judge in your area might do, are you likely to do better if you go all the way to trial than if you were to accept what your former spouse is offering?  What is the worst that could happen?  (Your family lawyer should be able to give you a strong sense of how a judge would be likely to rule on your case at trial).

8. If you really push for whatever is missing, what would possibly have to give up in order to get it?  It is worth it to you?  What are the risks of not settling now?

9. If you don’t settle now, how long will it take for your case to come trial and how long is the trial likely to last?

You certainly need to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of your former spouse’s proposed agreement with your family lawyer.  Your lawyer can advise you whether the proposed agreement is fair and reasonable based on the facts of your case and the application of Ontario family law principles to your situation.

Your lawyer may tell you that what your former spouse has offered is about as good as you’re going to get, that you can probably get a few more concessions if you keep negotiating, or that you should not accept your former spouse’s proposed agreement because it’s not fair and reasonable. 

However, you must make the final decision about your former spouse’s proposed agreement.  Just make sure you get solid advice from your family lawyer about the proposed agreement before you make any decision about accepting the proposed agreement or not.

If you have any questions about your separation, divorce or family law case and you would like our help, feel free to contact on my Facebook law office page, that’s O’Malley Family Law, or call me at 905-4343-8837 and I’ll point in you in the right direction. 

Click here to join my free Facebook GTA and Durham Region separation and divorce support group: GTA and Durham Region Separation and Divorce Support Group

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