If you are thinking about doing a divorce or you are going through a divorce and you can both agree on issues of custody, support, visitation, spousal support, property and or debts, the court will allow you to do an agreement so that you do not have to go to any court hearings.
This is called a marital settlement agreement (MSA) or a stipulation for judgment.
All of your issues are put into the agreement including all court required language, the respondent will have to have their signature notarized, the petitioner will just need to sign and this will need to be attached to the judgment.
You can have a paralegal or an attorney type up your agreement for you, a paralegal cannot give you advice, they can prepare your agreement for you and submit your documents to court. If you not sure what is fair or what you should list in your agreement you can see an attorney for advice first. After you do this you can either have a paralegal type your documents or an attorney. If you cannot come to an agreement with your spouse you can go to a mediator, this person can help you and your spouse come to an agreement.
If a spouse is receiving welfare, the District Attorney’s office may need to review and sign the marital settlement agreement before it is filed with the court.
The judge signs the judgment after it is submitted with any other required documents and then your divorce is done.