ILA for amending agreement?

[blinkandimgone]

This seems to be like a total newb question, but do you need to get ILA every time you review and amend your agreement?

[HammerDad]

My answer would generally vary depending on the nature of the change. If it is something simple and wouldn't be likely to be contentious down-the-road, I would say ILA is unnecessary.

If this is an amendment to a material part of the agreement, which could get costly/messy if ever challenged in the future, I would say yes.

Either way, it wouldn't hurt.

[blinkandimgone]

Thanks HD!

It's a material change for access & CS to reflect the current arrangement.

[first timer]

I have had a number of amendments to my original agreement over the years for ss and cs; they have all included the ILA clause but I don't know if my ex received ILA or not. I spoke to a lawyer about the ss amendment and was told that no one can be forced to get ILA, its their choice. The discussions and the agreements to the amendments have been tracked through emails; once we agreed, 4 copies of the amendment was printed off with a 30 day deadline (which was enough time to receive ILA if either of us wanted it); we each received 2 copies, 1 for exchange, and 1 for our own records to be kept with our original Separation Agreement. Hopefully this is enough to prove in court that my ex willingly and knowingly signed the amendments of her own accord, if she ever changes her mind. The only thing I have not done is added amendment notes in the margins of my original agreement to indicate that those clauses have indeed been amended.

[HammerDad]

As your lawyer said, you can't force someone to get ILA. You can strongly suggest that it is in their best interests that they do, but if they choose not to, that is on them.

FT - in your case the agreements speak to the fact that each of you did get ILA, and she signed it. You say you don't know whether she got it, but she may have. If she didn't, and she signed the agreement anyway, and was told that she should seek out ILA, she will have a very hard time opening up the agreements as she would have to prove that somehow mislead into signing the agreements.