Once the parties reach agreement on all issues at a mediation session, the mediator or an attorney drafts a written settlement agreement reflecting the terms. Signing that agreement transforms a negotiated understanding into a binding contract that the court will incorporate into the final divorce judgment. Reading the document carefully before signing is essential. Terms that seemed clear in discussion can appear differently when written out, and provisions that were agreed upon verbally sometimes do not survive the drafting process intact. Ambiguities that are present in the agreement at signing become disputes after the divorce is final.
Brodzki Jacobs reviews the agreement to confirm that every issue discussed was addressed in the document and that the language for each provision is specific enough to be enforceable. Asset transfers and financial arrangements must also be structured in a way that actually works given the parties' circumstances. For a parenting plan incorporated into the agreement, the attorney confirms that the plan meets Broward County's requirements and that the schedule and decision-making provisions are workable given the family's actual circumstances. This review step is one of the most important functions a divorce mediation attorney performs, and skipping it to conclude the session quickly is a mistake that can be difficult to correct afterward.
