Hammering out your final divorce agreement and signing it can feel cathartic – but you may experience a little bit of “buyer’s remorse” once you get home and have time to think a little harder about what it says.
Changing the agreement won’t be easy. Even if the judge hasn’t yet incorporated the agreement into the final divorce decree, it is still generally considered a binding contract.
Before the divorce is finalized, you are not entirely without options
Tell your attorney about your concerns as soon as possible, and be specific. Do you think the parenting schedule is lopsided or missing critical details, like holiday arrangements? Is there a lack of clarity about when a loan has to be refinanced? Did you find out that you need more time to buy out your spouse’s interest in the family home or pay a certain debt?
Whatever the reason, your spouse may be willing to sit back down at the negotiating table, especially if there is a practical issue that could affect you both. If the divorce isn’t yet finalized, the settlement can usually still be changed by mutual consent.
If your spouse does want to enforce the agreement, however, you can ask the court to set it aside – but only if you can prove that the agreement is unfair due to fraud, a significant mistake of fact or coercion. For example, discovering that your spouse has concealed assets tucked away somewhere is a lot different than just deciding you should have argued for a greater share of the marital estate.
New Jersey courts generally expect people to honor the settlements they sign, so the details of your situation matter a lot. What information did you each have when the agreement was signed? If you feel like you signed under duress, what was being held over your head? Be prepared to argue your case with as much documentation and other evidence as possible.
Once the judge has signed off on your divorce, you would need to seek a formal modification through the court to change any part of the agreement. While legal custody, parenting time, child support and alimony issues can potentially be modified (with varying degrees of likely success) at that point, issues involving the division of property and debts are seldom revisited.
The best way to avoid serious regrets in your divorce is to seek early, informed legal guidance.