Can a Settlement Agreement Be Changed if a Lawyer Did not Write the Agreement?

The rules and regulations, once set and agreed to in writing, cannot be changed unless certain circumstances arise to warrant a change. A settlement agreement is an agreement between two parties that are often created when couples encounter a divorce. Divorce often warrants the splitting of established assets, children, and other such tangibles. When going through the process of dividing up these things, couples must reach an agreement that is sworn through writing. Once this writing is established, signed, and agreed upon by both parties, the agreement will face a lawyer. Under the many different rules and regulations set aside by different states, these agreements can often be broken if certain circumstances arise. For one, a contract can be rendered broken once one or more parties violates the rules set in stone by the agreement. If a party were to be under violation of a rule, the contract could face termination and may have to be reconstructed to better suit both parties.

How Couples Re-Write their Agreements

If a contract dispute were to arise, most states would require both parties to attend a court to resolve the issue. Divorce court is the most utilized option, but some instances can force grounds for internal resolutions. The terms of these internal resolutions will again need to be in writing, but may not require the presence or influence of a lawyer to bind that contract. Under certain conditions, couples can re-write their agreements if the grounds support doing so. If neither party is at-fault of breaking a contract or both parties have withheld their agreements up to a certain point, new provisions can be added on the basis of good behavior and positive communication. These additions need not be underwritten or confirmed by a lawyer because the couple is within good-standing of their current conditions. Some states will require couples to go through a law office to do so, but most can get away without if they both sign and confirm the newly created agreement.

Signing an Agreement

It becomes a little more digressed when dealing with violations of contract and disagreements. If one party sits out from signing any paperwork with these agreements, most will be nullified and will require the presence of a lawyer to complete. If neither party wants to budge on certain provisions of the writing, a lawyer will once again be required to solidify the terms of these negotiations. The amounts of haze involved are created when two parties cannot meet eye-to-eye. Most states are understanding if cooperation is existing or has been proven to exist in the past. With most of these agreement cases, states will only become involved should one or more parties create a problem. The lawyer involvement comes at the infancy of these terms and can be put to the side after years of good standing within an agreement.