When our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators conducts a mediation; Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. strives to make certain that your mediated settlement agreement will be approved by the Florida Family Law Judge who is assigned to your case and who will ultimately enter a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. In addition, it is important to Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. that the agreement that is reached cannot be set aside in a future hearing.
When a husband and wife decide that it is time to go their separate ways, how they divide their real, personal and intangible property is of the utmost importance because this division of property may be what one or both parties will rely on in moving forward with their lives. That is why Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. is careful in how we assist in drafting a mediated settlement agreement that places all of the terms of two spouses’ property division decisions into writing so each of them fully understand who gets what.
Once a Florida Family Law Judge approves the mediated settlement agreement, it can only be set aside in a small number of limited situations according to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540 and the appellate case law that interprets this rule. Under this rule the Florida Supreme Court has determined that there are two ways to set aside an agreement: 1) “by establishing that it was reached under fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, misrepresentation, or overreaching” and 2) “establish that the agreement makes an unfair or unreasonable provision for that spouse, given the circumstances of the parties.” Casto v. Casto, 508 So. 2d 330, 333 (Fla. 1987)
Florida appellate cases tell us that just because one spouse makes a bad bargain is not dispositive, but the real issue is whether “there was either (a) a full, frank disclosure to the challenging spouse by the defending spouse before the signing of the agreement relative to the value of all the marital property and the income of the parties, or (b) a general and approximate knowledge by the challenging spouse of the character and extent of the marital property sufficient to obtain a value by reasonable means, as well as a general knowledge of the income of the parties.” See Casto.
When you conduct your mediation through Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc., we do our best to make certain that there has been a full and complete financial disclosure in order that both sides to the mediation are able to make an informed decision so that each of them can come to a reasonable and fair resolution to the distribution of marital assets.
If you are considering filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Florida, there are a number of steps which are very important and if followed will allow you to reach an agreement at mediation that cannot be set aside. Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. has the knowledge and experience to assist you in reaching a completed marital settlement agreement. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators.