Egedi

Parties contemplating dissolution of marriage may choose a “friendly divorce” or they can engage in the emotional and financial turmoil of protracted litigation. Some parties electing a “friendly divorce” will seek the help of a single attorney to assist them in putting their settlement agreement in proper legal form. 1 In this situation, there is a problem but not an insurmountable one, i.e., the attorney draftsperson has a potential conflict of interest because he or she cannot simultaneously represent adverse parties. As we shall explain, where a single attorney obtains an informed written waiver of the potential conflict of interest and acts only as a scrivener of the parties’ marital settlement agreement (MSA), such agreement is enforceable.

Wife appeals from the judgment challenging the trial court’s refusal to enforce the MSA freely and voluntarily entered into by the parties without fraud, duress, or undue influence. The MSA was typed by an attorney who informed the parties of the potential conflict of interest caused by his acting as a scrivener of the agreement. The parties signed a waiver of the conflict. Nevertheless, the trial court invalidated the MSA on…