Do you know the three mistakes to AVOID when making a Financial Agreement. Watch the Video or read the transcript to learn more.
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G’day, Ian back with your again. Today I would like to give the heads up on the 3 mistakes you need to avoid when putting your financial agreement together.
By taking these tips on board you’ll be able to put a robust document in place, so it’s critical to get the following points right.
Don’t be tempted to draft an agreement by yourself and then give it to your ex to sign, before you’ve even discussed what would be a fair and reasonable outcome.
This approach will backfire the moment the other party gets the chance to speak to a lawyer, so remember this is a collaborative process.
Using your power in this situation to bully the other party into accepting your terms for the agreement is a definite NO-NO.
For example, saying something like, “You’d better sign this agreement or you’ll never see the kids again” is likely to work against your interest.
Putting pressure the other person to sign off on terms that are not in their interest or they do not agree with, is referred to as duress and if discovered will invalidate your agreement.
This is one of the reasons why the law mandates that the parties must get independent legal advice so as to uncover pressure being applied from the other party or somebody else.
It’s critical that both parties are honest and upfront in their dealings with each other. If you fail to disclose information that may have a bearing on the other parties acceptance or refusal of the agreement, then it could be seen as fraud.
For instance, lets say Ken and Barbie have agreed to split everything 50/50. Unbeknownst to Barbie, Ken has been socking money way in a secret bank account for the last 20 years.
So in effect Ken is deceiving Barbie into signing an agreement by not disclosing a material matter.
You don’t need to be Perry Mason to see why this is wrong, and if you get caught you may stand to lose much more than money.
So to recap – Remember it takes two to tango and both partners have to be willing to dance.
Honesty and cooperation are the keys to a peaceful settlement without it draining you emotionally and financially