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ATTORNEY LISA J. CAPPALLI A ‘too loose’ divorce agreement can be worse than none

By Lisa J. Cappalli It ’s almost always better if the divorcing couple can agree on divorce terms rather than let a judge decide. Their agreement can’t – and shouldn’t – try to cover every possibility and it’ s understandable that both spouses would want to “g et it over with” to save legal expense or avoid immediate conflict or difficult questions. The rationalization is that in the future “we will be able to work it out” or “t hat will never happen.” The result can be an agreement that is imprecise and useless when it doesn’t have an answer to a situation that should have been anticipate d.

Take, for example, a parenting plan that says “ su m m e rs and holidays will be shared as agreed by the parties from time to time.” In evitably occasions arise where one parent or the other w on ’t agree. Now what? The agreem e nt do esn’t help and the noncusto dial parent has to go through the expense of going back to court, and loss of time with the child that can’t be recouped, to get a judge to decide. A detailed agreed-upon schedule would have solved the problem without taking away flexibility for cooperating parents to agree to chang es. Frequently, both spouses are on the mortgage of the family home but only one spouse will end up owning it. The other wants to get off the mortgage because that liability has a significant impact on that person’s ability to finance another home or get other credit, such as credit cards or a car loan. The spouses can’t force the lender to give a release to one of them and the court ca n ’t order it. So the house has to be sold or refinanced to pay off the mortgage. An agreement merely to refinance or sell at some indeterminate time has great potential to blow up and create more acrimony and expense than if the timing were addressed in the divorce settlement agreement. The timing can, and should, accommodate each couple’s particular situation. For example, the house to be sold by a date that the youngest child is expected to graduate high school or when a spouse remar r ies.

An experienced divorce attorney or mediator can help a couple include the right level of detail in the terms of their agreement. This is an investment that will save untold future time, expense, conflict and stress.

Cappalli

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Lisa J. Cappalli is Of Counsel at Cappalli & Hill, LLC and Freed Marcroft LLC. She can be reached at lcappalli@cappallihill.com or 203-271-3888. This column should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion by Attorney Cappalli, Cappalli & Hill, LCC or Freed Marcroft LLC. The content is intended for general information only. and you are urged to consult an attorney to advise you personally concerning your own situation and any specific legal questions you may have.

Cheshire Police Blotter

Arrests reported by Cheshire Police:

Aug. 1

Darren S. Palmer, 34, 110 Prospect St., Bristol, sixth-degree larceny, failure to respond to a payable violation, 12:15 p.m.

Aug. 3

Daniel Carrasco, 32, 37 Clifford St., Hamden, fifth-degree larceny, 3:35 p.m.

Aug. 11

Alyssa M. Caruso, 34, 199 Cook Hill Road, sixth-degree larceny, 1:29 p.m.

Matthew Northrup, 46, 199 Cook Hill Road, sixth-degree larceny, 1:20 p.m.

Aug. 14

Corey R. Dzienkiewicz, 26, 35 Barbara Drive, Shelton, risk of injury to a child, second-degree breach of peace, possession of a weapon on school grounds, first-degree threatening, 9:40 p.m.

Saiasia Swift, 21, 405 South 15th St., Newark, N.J., sixth-degree larceny, interfering with an officer, 4:55 p.m.

Kaiasia Swift, 21, 405 South 15th St., Newark, N.J., sixth-degree larceny, interfering with an officer, 4:55 p.m.

Aug. 16

Nicholas H. Fortunato, 18, 90 Copper Beech Drive, disorderly conduct, second-degree threatening, 7:53 p.m.

Virginia Hall, 32, 579 Cook Hill Road, disorderly conduct, 6:21 p.m.

Aug. 20

Jaxon T. Rivers, 46, 362 Pondview Terrace, Southington, violation of a protective order, 9:36 a.m.

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