When everyone is happy with the written agreement, they should each take a copy of the agreement to their respective lawyers, or to any lawyer for that matter, to get ''independent legal advice'' about the agreement. The lawyers they speak to will explain:

Independent legal advice is critical for three main reasons:

After each party has had independent legal advice about the agreement, they'll sign the agreement or, as lawyers say, they'll ''execute'' the agreement, if they're still willing to do the deal. Family law agreements need to be signed in the presence of a witness, who, after watching the party sign the agreement, signs the agreement themselves. Someone who witnesses an agreement does not become a party to that agreement and isn't responsible for seeing that the agreement is followed. The signature of a witness on an agreement merely says "I know Mr. Fong and I saw Mr. Fong sign the agreement."