“We signed the Settlement Agreement in our divorce case, now what?”
Once the Settlement Agreement is signed, we submit the document for electronic filing with the Court. Once we receive a stamped-copy back from the Court, we will send you a copy as well. If you have children, we will hold your Parenting Plan and Child Support Addendum for a brief period before submitting these to the Judge for signature, as further explained below.
After a Settlement Agreement has been filed with the Court, the next step is for Plaintiff’s counsel to draft a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, and accompanying Affidavit, which also must be filed with the Court. In a divorce case, a "Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings" (MJOP) is a legal request to the Court to issue the Final Divorce Decree based solely on the written documents filed in the case (without the need for any additional evidence or a hearing). Essentially, the MJOP alerts the Court that the case is ready to be finalized and that all necessary settlement documents have been prepared and signed. In support of the MJOP, an Affidavit will be prepared by Plaintiff’s counsel and signed by the Plaintiff. This notarized, sworn statement is used to support the request for the Court to issue the Final Decree without the need for any additional evidence or a hearing. The Affidavit is filed with the Court concurrently with the MJOP.
Once the MJOP and accompanying Affidavit are filed, Plaintiff’s counsel will send a stamped-filed copy of this document, along with a stamp-filed copy of the Settlement Agreement, to Court staff via email. A Proposed Final Decree of Divorce will also be sent to the Court. The proposed Final Decree of Divorce (Final Decree) simply states that the parties have reached a settlement agreement, which has been filed with the Court, and that this document is approved by the Court and made an Order of the Court by way of its incorporation in the Final Decree. The Settlement Agreement is simply a contract filed with the Court. The Final Decree makes this document a Court Order. The Final Decree is also the document that formally issues the divorce and closes the case. Once the Final Decree is signed and filed, you are officially divorced.
If a party to the divorce is restoring his or her previous name as a part of the divorce, this is to be included in the proposed Final Decree. Once the Final Decree is signed and filed, the name change is legally officially, and a party can take next steps to begin changing social security number, accounts, etc. A certified copy of the Final Decree (the Court includes a special seal on the document for a minimal charge) is typically needed to begin the name change process after the divorce is finalized.
If you have children, your Parenting Plan and Child Support Addendum will be submitted to the Court along with the Final Decree of Divorce. Unlike the Settlement Agreement, the Parenting Plan and Child Support Addendum are both signed by the Judge and are therefore Court Orders once signed by the Judge and filed. While they are typically referenced in the Final Decree, it is not necessary as these documents are Court Orders on their own when signed by the Judge.
Once the settlement documents are sent to the Court via email, the Judge and his/her staff review what has been submitted, confirm everything is in order, and if so, sign off on the Final Decree as well as the Parenting Plan and Child Support Addendum. This could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on the Judge’s schedule and caseload. We continue to follow up with the Court until all documents are signed and filed. Again, once that is done, the legal case is officially concluded and your divorce is finalized.