Here are some provisions that I have seen divorce litigants who did not include them in their divorce settlement agreements wish were included:
- a “loser pays” clause for 1) when a party takes action in court to enforce the provisions of the decree of divorce against the noncompliant party and/or 2) when a party files frivolous motions with the court that cost the other party needlessly wasted money on attorneys and lost time from work;
- a “vexatious litigator/frivolous litigator” clause that requires your vindictive, malicious ex-spouse who is a vexatious litigator/frivolous litigator to post a bond in advance of filing any motions or petitions in court, so that your attorney’s fees and court costs are covered in the event your ex engages in vexatious/frivolous litigation against you;
- a “right of first refusal” clause that provides for a parent to have the first right to provide childcare for the children when the parent who would otherwise be scheduled to have the children in his/her custody cannot provide personal care and supervision for the children. Usually, this right of first refusal (sometimes abbreviates as “ROFR”) applies only if the parent who would otherwise be scheduled to have the children in his/her custody cannot provide personal care and supervision for the children for a period of 3 (sometimes 4) hours or more. ROFR wouldn’t apply if a parent hires a sitter for an hour while a parent runs to the store, for example;
- provisions for which of various child-related expenses not covered by child support will be shared between the parties, such as school expenses, athletic, and club (like Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or 4H, etc.) expenses;
- a provision authorizing any peace officer to enforce a court-ordered child custody and/or parent-time (visitation) schedule; and
- a provision for allocating the right to claim the child(ren) for income tax purposes.
There are others that may be of help to you and your family as well, but these that I’ve outlined are some of the best, in my experience.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
