Most California divorces and legal separations that avoid a trial end with a written marital settlement agreement (MSA). This guide covers what the agreement actually has to say, how it gets filed, and when it is worth paying a lawyer to look at it.
Key Takeaway: A California marital settlement agreement must address property, debts, and spousal support to be accepted by the court, plus custody and child support if you have children. It gets signed by both spouses, often with Judicial Council form attachments for specific issues, and submitted along with your final judgment paperwork to end the case.
What Is a Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) in California?
A marital settlement agreement is a written, signed agreement between spouses (or domestic partners) that resolves the issues in their divorce or legal separation case. Once you and your spouse reach an agreement on how to handle your case, you write it out and sign it. The agreement has to say that you both agree to end the marriage (or to legally separate) and lay out what you agreed to about property and support.
What Must a California MSA Include?
Your written agreement must cover how you and your spouse will handle every issue in the case. At minimum, that means:
- How you will divide your property
- How you will divide your debts
- Whether either spouse will pay spousal support
If you have children together, your agreement also needs to address custody, visitation, and child support. If the agreement does not cover property, debts, and spousal support, the court can reject the judgment based on it, which delays finalizing your case.
Many settlement agreements attach specific Judicial Council forms for each issue rather than writing everything out from scratch:
- Form FL-341, Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Order Attachment
- Form FL-342, Child Support Information and Order Attachment
- Form FL-343, Spousal, Partner, or Family Support Order Attachment (which can attach Form FL-349 for the Family Code 4320 factors)
- Form FL-345, Property Order Attachment to Judgment
There are certain words and phrases California courts expect to see in a settlement agreement; if they are missing, the court can decline to accept it, which is one reason a reliable template or sample from your court's self-help center is worth using over a generic form found elsewhere online.
Do I Need a Lawyer to Write an MSA?
Not necessarily. You can prepare the agreement yourself, get a sample or template from your court's family law facilitator or self-help center, or check your local law library for sample agreements and books. Many lawyers will also review a draft agreement for an hourly consultation fee, without taking over the entire case, if you want a second opinion before signing. Agreements involving the sale of a home or division of a retirement account are especially hard to unwind once finalized, so consulting a lawyer for those specific pieces is worth considering even in an otherwise self-prepared case.
If your agreement addresses property or support, you and your spouse also need to complete or formally waive your final Declarations of Disclosure before or when you write out the agreement, using Form FL-144 if you are waiving them.
How Do I File an MSA With the Court?
Once your agreement is signed, you file it along with your final judgment paperwork:
- File Form FL-141, Declaration Regarding Service of Declaration of Disclosure, confirming you and your spouse exchanged financial information.
- File Form FL-130, Appearance, Stipulations, and Waivers, which tells the court you both agree on how to resolve the case and waive the right to a trial.
- File Form FL-170, Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution or Legal Separation, confirming your case is uncontested.
- Submit your judgment forms with your signed agreement attached, along with the required copies and pre-addressed, stamped envelopes for the court to mail back your filed Judgment and Notice of Entry of Judgment.
If anything is missing or incorrect, the court returns the paperwork with instructions on what to fix, rather than signing it. Your case is finished once you receive the filed, stamped Notice of Entry of Judgment.
MSA vs. Legal Separation Agreement: What's the Difference?
The written agreement itself follows the same rules whether your case is a divorce or a legal separation: it has to resolve property, debts, spousal support, and, if applicable, custody and child support, and it gets filed with the same type of final paperwork. The difference is not in the agreement's content or format, but in what type of case it is attached to. In a divorce, the case ends with the marriage legally over. In a legal separation, the same kind of agreement resolves the same issues, but both spouses remain legally married when the case is final.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a marital settlement agreement in California?
It is a written, signed agreement between spouses that resolves the issues in their divorce or legal separation case, typically property division, debts, and spousal support, and custody and support if they have children. Once approved by a judge, it becomes part of the final judgment that ends the case.
What must a California divorce settlement agreement cover?
It must address how you will divide property, how you will divide debts, and whether either spouse will pay spousal support. If you have children, it typically also covers custody, visitation, and child support. If the agreement leaves out property, debts, or spousal support, the court can reject the judgment based on it.
Is there a template or sample marital settlement agreement for California?
Your court's family law facilitator or self-help center may have a sample agreement or template, and local law libraries sometimes carry books with sample agreements. There are specific words and phrases California courts expect to see, so a generic template from an unreliable source can cause your judgment to be rejected. Many people attach the Judicial Council's own form attachments (such as Forms FL-341, FL-342, FL-343, and FL-345) to cover custody, child support, spousal support, and property.
Does a California marital settlement agreement need to be notarized?
The California Courts Self-Help Guide describes the agreement as something both spouses sign, and related court forms, like the Declaration for Default or Uncontested Dissolution (FL-170), are signed under penalty of perjury rather than notarized. Notarization requirements can vary by document and by county practice, so confirm what your specific court requires before you submit your paperwork.
Do I need a lawyer to write a marital settlement agreement?
Not necessarily. Many people prepare their own agreement, sometimes with help from a court self-help center, especially in straightforward cases. Property agreements are difficult to change once finalized, so if your case involves selling a home, dividing a retirement account, or other complex assets, reviewing the agreement with a lawyer before you sign is worth the cost, even if a lawyer did not draft the whole thing.
How is a marital settlement agreement different from a legal separation agreement?
The written agreement itself works the same way in either case: it resolves property, debts, support, and custody in a signed document submitted to the court. The difference is not in the agreement's format but in the underlying case. In a divorce, the agreement ends with both spouses divorced. In a legal separation, the agreement resolves the same issues, but both spouses remain legally married at the end.
How Virdix Helps
Virdix helps prepare the forms that make up a California settlement agreement package, including the FL-341, FL-342, FL-343, and FL-345 attachments, and the FL-141, FL-130, and FL-170 forms needed to finalize your case. Virdix does not negotiate your settlement terms or provide legal advice about whether a specific agreement is in your best interest.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Virdix is a document preparation service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed California family law attorney.
Sources: California Courts Self-Help Center (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov).