Articles Posted in Mediated Settlement Agreement

What is a Mediated Settlement Agreement?

If you reach an agreement in a mediation, more precisely called a Mediated settlement agreement or MSA for short, the agreement is binding on you and all other parties you are agreeing with in a family law case as long as the MSA is drafted in the way that is required under the Texas Family Code. The agreement must be the result of a mediation, hence the name, which is basically just the meeting of both parties with a neutral third person facilitating the conversation so that the parties can come to an agreement. Texas law encourages mediation as a cost-efficient and time-efficient way of settling disputes. One of the benefits of mediation is that instead of a judge who has only a glimpse into the lives of parties based on evidence presented to him or her, during a mediation the parties who know their situation and family the best get to come to an agreement that works for them and is custom to their situation.

One downside to a mediation could be that as opposed to a judge who should know what the consequences of their decision could potentially be, parties could be making agreements in a mediated settlement agreement using language that will have consequences after the agreement is entered that they did not intend. One of the reasons that we trust judges to make decisions for us in legal matters is that in general they have years of experience dealing with similar matters and they should understand what all of the legal jargon that goes into an order actually means.

In Texas, if a mediated settlement agreement is properly executed you cannot challenge it.  Texas Family Code Section 153.0071(d) and (e) mandate that courts shall issue an order in compliance with a mediated settlement agreement.  This is why it is so important to have an attorney attend mediation with you.  You cannot go back after the fact and change it.   When the mediated settlement agreement is signed and on file with the court, that is it.  Those are the terms and they cannot be changed.  Many have tried and failed.

Why Would a Party Want to Back Out on a Mediated Settlement Agreement?

Mediations can sometimes be very difficult and long days.  You typically do not reach an agreement until the very last hour after you have already been there for eight hours without a break.  At this point, you are exhausted and you may not be thinking clearly.  So, you might forget something.  Also, a lot of parties have what we call “buyer’s remorse” in that you thought it sounded good at the time but now in practice it is not working out.  For instance, a visitation schedule for a child—a party may end up wanting more or less time due to demanding schedules and want that changed.  Or, a party may want to say that they actually wanted more child support than what they originally agreed to and they want to challenge that now.  However, the law is pretty clear that you cannot.

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