Divorce Settlements need to be creatively Drafted

Music Mogul and American Idol Star Simon Cowell is being included in his girlfriend Lauren Silverman’s Divorce Settlement Agreement (also known as a Marital Settlement Agreement). This agreement demonstrates just how creative these things can get in order to accommodate the goals on both sides of the marriage.

Apparently, in this settlement agreement, Lauren Silverman agrees that if Simon Cowell comes near her son (not a son with Simon, but a son with her ex-husband) Simon will pay the ex-husband $50,000. Further, the settlement agreement indicates that upon 3 violations of the stay-away provision, Lauren Silverman forfeits custody of her son, to her ex-husband. As, if that weren’t interesting enough, apparently the Divorce Agreement also indicates that both sides agree to make sure that no one other than the child’s biological parents is referred to as his mom or his dad.

All of this serves to illustrate just how creative you can be in your divorce agreements. The reality is that divorces can get very complicated as children, money, property, and debt are being split up. In these situations, it is inevitable that both the husband and the wife have different goals, and agendas. In our practice, it is common to work with a husband and wife going through the divorce process and their starting points are miles apart. This is where it becomes critical to have an experienced divorce attorney who knows how to identify the goals of each side, and then is not afraid to get creative to fashion an agreement that meets the needs of both sides. The further apart that each party is from the other, the more creativity that will be necessary to find a way to satisfy each side in the divorce.

We had a recent Victorville Divorce Case in which we ended up drafting a Marital Settlement Agreement that worked out a complex schedule for each side to have ” custody” of the couple’s animals. We literally had the family dog and three cats spending time with each party to the divorce weekly with the dog going to the wife’s house on Wednesday Mornings for “play dates” with the neighbor’s dog. The bottom line is that a skilled divorce attorney who is willing and able to think creatively will be more likely to fashion a remedy that is acceptable to both sides and effectively settles the divorce.