You may be unaware of it, but you have the right to create your own divorce settlement. Your divorce settlement is the agreement you and your spouse reach that settles the issues of child custody, property division, child support and spousal support. The court can create this settlement for you, but it is almost always in your most favorable interests to create it yourselves.
By creating your own divorce settlement, you have control over the situation. You still have to negotiate with your spouse and come to a mutual decision about the issues at hand, but you can make decisions the court cannot. For example, the court has specific rules it must follow when dividing property, but you do not have to follow those rules as long as you both agree on the division.
Failure to agree
According to the Nebraska Legislature, if you cannot agree to settle your divorce, then the court will step in. Usually, the court will try to support you and your spouse working together to reach an agreement instead of taking over and making the decisions itself. However, you need to reach a settlement that the court supports.
The court’s approval
The court must approve your divorce settlement for it to be a legal agreement enforceable under the law. Also, you have to have this agreement in place to finalize your divorce.
In general, the court must accept your agreement. This is in deferment to you knowing what is the most favorable outcome for your situation. However, there are some exceptions, which include child custody and support. The court can modify these areas or choose to set them itself.
In addition, if the court feels the agreement is not fair, it can reject it. The court may ask you and your spouse to renegotiate the areas of the settlement it rejects, or the court may make the decisions itself.