What Is a Marital Settlement Agreement?

# What Is a Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA)?

A marital settlement agreement (MSA) is the written contract divorcing spouses sign to settle the issues in their case: how marital property and debts are divided, whether either spouse pays alimony, and, if there are children, the parenting plan and child support. Once a judge approves it, the agreement is usually incorporated into the final judgment of divorce, so its terms become enforceable court orders. Property terms are generally final. Terms about children always remain subject to the court's review of the child's best interests, and support terms can often be modified later when circumstances change. An MSA is signed *during* a divorce; a prenup is signed before marriage and a postnup during an intact marriage.

At a glance

What a marital settlement agreement usually includes

Florida's Supreme Court–approved MSA form for divorces with children (Form 12.902(f)(1)) is a useful map of what most agreements address, whatever the state:

1. Marital assets and liabilities. Who keeps the home, accounts, retirement plans, business interests and personal property, and who pays each debt, including contingent items.
2. Beneficiary designations. Whether a spouse must stay a beneficiary on a policy or account after the divorce.
3. Spousal support (alimony). Whether alimony is paid, its type, amount and length, and any agreed tax treatment.
4. Parenting plan. Parental responsibility and the time-sharing schedule, attached as a separate plan in Florida (see What Is a Parenting Plan?).
5. Child support. Amount, insurance, uncovered medical costs and life insurance to secure support, filed with a guidelines worksheet in Florida.
6. Other terms. Which parent claims the children for tax purposes, fees, transfer deadlines, and a list of issues *not* agreed, which the judge will decide.

High-asset agreements add detail on business valuation and equity awards.

How an MSA fits into the divorce process

1. Disclosure. Each spouse discloses assets, debts and income. Florida's form recites that both filed financial affidavits and made "full and fair disclosure." California bars judgment on property rights until each side serves a final declaration of disclosure and an income and expense declaration, or validly waives the final declaration (Cal. Fam. Code § 2106).
2. Negotiation. Directly, through attorneys, in mediation or in a collaborative divorce.
3. Signing and filing. Florida's form is signed by both spouses before a notary public or deputy clerk and filed with the circuit court clerk.
4. Court review and judgment. The judge reviews the agreement at the final hearing and normally approves and incorporates it. A full MSA usually makes the case an uncontested divorce.
5. Carrying it out. Florida's instructions say the agreement "does not act to transfer title to the property"; that takes a deed or supplemental final judgment. Retirement plans often need a QDRO.

Why settle instead of letting a judge decide

Without an agreement, the court divides property under state law. Florida judges must begin with the premise that the distribution "should be equal" unless listed factors justify otherwise, and contested judgments need detailed written findings, including valuations of significant assets (Fla. Stat. § 61.075). California must divide the community estate equally "except upon the written agreement of the parties" or an oral stipulation in open court (Cal. Fam. Code § 2550). An MSA lets spouses trade assets, decide who keeps a business or the house, structure payments and avoid a trial record.

What a judge will look at closely

• Children. In Florida, the child's best interests "must be the primary consideration" for a parenting plan and time-sharing schedule, and an approved plan must cover minimum terms (Fla. Stat. § 61.13). Parents can agree on a schedule, but the court approves it.
• Child support. Measured against the statutory guidelines (Florida requires the worksheet).
• Alimony. For cases filed on or after July 1, 2023, Florida limits court-awarded alimony to temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative or durational forms, with duration caps (Fla. Stat. § 61.08). Those rules frame what a judge would do without a deal; see How Is Alimony Calculated?.

Can a marital settlement agreement be changed later?

It depends on the term:

• Property division: generally final once the judgment is entered. Florida says a cash payment ordered for equitable distribution vests when the judgment is awarded and does not end on remarriage or death unless the parties agreed otherwise (§ 61.075(2)).
• Support: Florida lets either party ask the court to increase or decrease support or alimony provided for in an agreement when "the circumstances or the financial ability of either party changes" (§ 61.14(1)(a)). Some forms of alimony have their own limits; ask your attorney how your wording affects later changes.
• Parenting plan: modifiable only on a substantial and material change in circumstances and if the change is in the child's best interests (§ 61.13). See Can You Modify a Custody or Support Order?.

Can an MSA be set aside?

Rarely, and courts don't undo a deal just because it turned out badly. In *Casto v. Casto* (Fla. 1987), the Florida Supreme Court described two grounds for vacating or modifying a marital agreement: (1) it was reached through "fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, misrepresentation, or overreaching"; or (2) it is unfair or unreasonable given the parties' circumstances and the challenging spouse lacked adequate knowledge of the marital property and income. The court said "a bad bargain" alone is not enough. That's why full disclosure matters: concealed assets can reopen a case (see What Happens If a Spouse Hides Assets in a Divorce?). Other states apply their own tests.

Tax points to settle in the agreement

• Alimony: under agreements executed after 2018, the payer can't deduct alimony and the recipient doesn't report it as income. Child support is never deductible or income (IRS Topic 452).
• Property transfers: generally no recognized gain or loss on a transfer between spouses or former spouses because of a divorce, though a gift tax return may sometimes be needed (IRS Publication 504). The receiving spouse takes the other spouse's adjusted basis, so two assets of equal value can carry different future tax.

Have a tax adviser review the draft before signing.

MSA vs. prenup and postnup

A prenup is signed before marriage and a postnup during an intact marriage; both set rules in advance. An MSA resolves the actual divorce, and it usually carries out a valid prenup or postnup.

Checklist before you sign

• Full financial disclosure exchanged, including business interests, deferred compensation and trusts.
• Values and valuation dates stated for significant assets, and after-tax effects reviewed.
• Transfer steps and deadlines listed: deeds, account retitling, QDROs.
• Life insurance and beneficiary designations addressed.
• Parenting plan (and support worksheet, if required) attached.
• Alimony type, amount, duration and modifiability clear.
• Signed as your state requires.

Talk to a family law attorney

Browse Family Law Attorneys on Haute Lawyer.

Featured: Amber Kornreich, a Florida Bar Board Certified Marital and Family Law attorney and Partner at Kornreich & Associates in Miami, whose practice covers high-net-worth divorce, prenuptial agreements, timesharing, support and related marital agreement issues. Gerald Kornreich, who founded Kornreich & Associates in 1975, represents clients in complex, high-asset and high-income family law matters before Florida courts and in mediation, arbitration and private judge settings.

Related questions

• Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce
• What Is Equitable Distribution in Divorce?
• How Is Alimony Calculated?
• What Is a Parenting Plan?
• What Is a QDRO?

Sources

• Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.902(f)(1), Marital Settlement Agreement for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Child(ren) (02/18), with instructions — https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/685816/file_pdf/902f1.pdf (sections, notary/deputy clerk signing, guidelines worksheet, title-transfer note, disclosure recital; checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• Florida Courts, Family Law Forms (lists MSA forms 12.902(f)(1)–(3)) — https://www.flcourts.gov/Resources-Services/Office-of-Family-Courts/Self-Help-Information/Family-Law-Forms (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.075, Equitable distribution (2026) — http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.075.html (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.08, Alimony (2026) — http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.08.html (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.13, Parenting plan; time-sharing (2026) — http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.13.html (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.14, Modification of support agreements or orders (2026) — http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.14.html (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• Cal. Fam. Code § 2550 — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=2550 (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• Cal. Fam. Code § 2106 — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=2106 (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• *Casto v. Casto*, 508 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1987) — https://law.justia.com/cases/florida/supreme-court/1987/66325-0.html (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• IRS, Topic no. 452, Alimony and separate maintenance — https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc452 (checked Nov. 12, 2026)
• IRS, Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals — https://www.irs.gov/publications/p504 (property settlements, basis of property received; checked Nov. 12, 2026)

*This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Family law differs by state; talk to a licensed attorney where you live.*