Why it is important to receive a signed Judgment of Divorce from the court after a Stipulation of Settlement?

A Stipulation of Settlement is a pure agreement between two parties that is normally only signed by the two parties. This kind of document is not enforceable in court if either party violates such agreement. There are some circumstances where an attorney will ask the judge to so-order the Stipulation of Settlement to make it an enforceable document as soon as possible.

If not, the parties have to wait for the court to sign off on the Judgment of Divorce to make all terms of the agreement enforceable. This is important if either party violates the agreement they are able to bring the other party back to court on a violation of the terms of the Judgment of Divorce.