Minutes of Agreement

Going to court is expensive and the outcome can be uncertain. One of the most efficient ways of resolving family conflicts is for the parties to enter into an agreement drawn up by the spouses’ respective solicitors.

A minute of agreement, otherwise known as a separation agreement, is a flexible and powerful tool which can govern almost all issues which affect the family.

A minute of agreement can contain clauses dealing with the following issues:

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• child maintenance;
• the agreed distribution of the contents of the family home;
• the split of matrimonial property including money, goods, cars and the family home;
• the care or residence of the children;
• the type of divorce to be applied for, who will bear the costs of the divorce and often that an application for a divorce will not be defended;
• provision of aliment for a spouse;
• the education of children;
• the payment of capital sums or periodic allowances;
• split of pensions, shares and other capital;
• the renunciation of all other rights on a person’s estate

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For further information on minutes of agreements under Scottish family law, please contact our family law solicitors on 0141 404 1091 or fill out our online enquiry form.

Terms relating to the care of children

Even if parties are in agreement about the future care of the children of the marriage, this is always subject to review by the courts. It is always open to one of the parties to the agreement go to the court, at a later date, to ask that the care arrangements be changed where it can be shown to be in the best interests of the children.

Varying the minute of agreement

In certain restricted cases the court can be asked to overturn a part of a minute of agreement. The circumstances where this arises would include where one spouse had misled the other about the extent of matrimonial property and as a result one spouse had not received his or her proper entitlement.

Registering the minute of agreement

Minutes of Agreement once completed and signed are normally sent to the Registers of Scotland in Edinburgh for registration and execution. The effect of registration in this way is to validate the agreement and give it the effect of a court order.

If a party does not keep to his side of the agreement, the registered agreement can be used to enforce compliance with its’ terms.

To contact us for an appointment please call or e-mail our family lawyer Colette Kerr on 0141 404 1091 or [email protected]. For general queries surrounding any family law matter please fill out our enquiry form.