A high asset divorce does not necessarily involve contested litigation. In many cases, the divorcing spouses are eager to resolve their outstanding issues and end their marriage as quickly as possible. To facilitate this, Texas law does allow for mediated settlement agreements (MSA).

An MSA is a legally binding contract signed by both parties. A mediator serves as a neutral facilitator who assists the parties, and their attorneys, in reaching an agreement. But unlike an arbitrator, the mediator does not have the legal authority to force a decision. The spouses are still free to abandon mediation at any time and take their case to litigation.

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Law Governing Mediated Settlement Agreements

The Texas Supreme Court recently addressed an important legal question regarding MSAs: Are such agreements enforceable if they are signed before either spouse actually files for divorce?

A growing number of high-asset divorce cases are resolved through the still-controversial method of collaborative law, during which the parties work together to find mutual solutions to problems stemming from child custody, spousal support, property division, and other complex property litigation issues.

The method is controversial because it totally eschews the traditional adversarial model. Assume that, instead of playing a football game in Waco or Austin, officials from The University of Texas and Baylor met to compare their teams' statistical profiles and then enlisted the help of sportswriters and broadcasters to determine a winner. Collaborative law is not nearly that radical, but it is in the same general neighborhood.

Critics maintain that attorneys can only "zealously" represent their clients, as called for in the canon of ethics, in a courtroom shootout. However, good lawyers are very adept at far more than simply making arguments.