You’ve Reached an Agreement: What Comes Next? King of Prussia Divorce Lawyers at Vetrano Law Explain:
Coming to a settlement can be an arduous and tedious process, one that King of Prussia divorce lawyers at Vetrano Law can help you reach. It is important to understand what happens after an agreement has been made. Once a settlement has been negotiated, one of the former spouses’ attorneys will draft an agreement that incorporates the terms you and your spouse negotiated into a binding legal document called a Marital Settlement Agreement. It is then reviewed for accuracy and form by the other spouses’ attorney and signed by both parties once it is in final form. There is often a great sense of accomplishment and closure when the final Marital Settlement Agreement has been executed. At this point in time the terms of the divorce are final except for child support and child custody, which are always modifiable under Pennsylvania Law.
Once the Marital Settlement Agreement has been executed, one of the divorce attorneys will file it along with a Praecipe to Transmit the Record with the Court. The Praecipe to Transmit the Record is a legal pleading that notifies the Court to issue a Divorce Decree. Once the Divorce Decree has been issued the parties are officially divorced. It usually takes between one and two months from when the Praecipe has been filed with the Court for the Divorce Decree to be issued. Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County Pennsylvania all have slightly different procedures for processing Divorce Decrees and it may take longer in one county in Southeastern Pennsylvania than in another.
During this time period both you and your attorneys will work to try to effectuate the terms of the Marital Settlement Agreement. Often the deed to the house will have to be changed into one party’s name and retirement and pension accounts will have to be rolled over from one spouse to another. Usually pension and retirement plans require a special Court Order called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to transfer the money in a pension or retirement account from one spouse to another and your attorney will help to make sure that the process is completed.
If one party does not cooperate in effectuating the terms of the Marital Settlement Agreement enforcement issues can be brought before the Court. Once a Marital Settlement Agreement has been signed in Pennsylvania the Court has equitable powers to enforce its terms.
Please contact King of Prussia’s Vetrano|Vetrano & Feinman LLC at (610)-265-4441 for more information. You can also visit their website at www.vetranolaw.com, to learn more about the divorce process and to get in touch with one of their superb, award-winning divorce attorneys.
