Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) Glossary

By DClement | January 1, 2025

A Guide to Understanding Common Terms in Your Agreement

This glossary is designed to help you review your Settlement Agreement with clarity and confidence. If you have questions about how any term applies to your specific situation, please raise them during your session.

  • Will/Shall: Creates a mandatory obligation. It means something is required.
  • May: Permits an action but does not require it.
  • Waiver: The voluntary, knowing, and intentional giving up of a legal right, claim, or benefit. A waiver is typically permanent.
  • Good Faith: Acting honestly and fairly, without attempting to gain an unfair advantage.
  • Enforceable: Legally valid and capable of being upheld by a court once signed.
  • Discovery: The formal legal process of requesting financial and other information in a court case. In mediation, parties may choose to waive formal discovery.
  • Formal Inventory and Appraisal: A detailed listing and valuation of all assets and debts, typically prepared in litigation.
  • Indemnify: Pay money to cover the loss.
  • Hold Harmless: Promise not to sue the other person for that issue and to protect them from claims.
  • Defend: Pay for lawyers to fight the claim upfront (not just reimburse later).

Financial Terms

  • Marital Property: Property acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title (subject to Pennsylvania law).
  • Separate Property: Property owned before the marriage or acquired individually by gift or inheritance.
  • Gross Annual Income: All compensation received from employment, self-employment, or the operation of a business, including wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, tips, and draws, before any deductions or taxes.
  • Equitable Distribution: A fair (not necessarily equal) division of marital property.
  • Offset: A financial adjustment where one amount is reduced by another amount owed. When one party keeps a particular asset, the value is balanced by reducing what they receive elsewhere or by making an equalization payment.
  • Equalization Payment: A payment made to balance the division of assets.
  • Assumption of Debt: One party agrees to be solely responsible for a specific debt.
  • Timely Payment: Payment made on or before the due date.
  • Promptly: Without unreasonable delay under the circumstances.
  • Consideration: Something of value exchanged as part of an agreement (often money, even a nominal amount such as $1).
  • Contingency: A future event that must occur before a term takes effect.
  • Short Sale: A sale of property where the sale price is less than the amount owed on the mortgage.
  • Promissory Note: A written promise to repay a loan.
  • Capital Gains: Tax owed on the profit from the sale of property or investments.
  • Capital Loss Carry-Forward: A tax rule allowing unused capital losses to offset future capital gains.
  • Filing Status: The tax category under which a return is filed (e.g., married filing jointly, married filing separately, single).
  • Elective Share: The portion of a deceased spouse’s estate that a surviving spouse may claim under state law.
  • Intestate: Dying without a valid will.
  • Testate: Dying with a valid will. 

Retirement & Benefits Terms

  • QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order): A court order required to divide certain retirement plans without triggering taxes or penalties.
  • Alternate Payee: The person entitled to receive a portion of retirement benefits under a QDRO.
  • Marital Share: The portion of a retirement account or pension earned during the marriage.
  • Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefit: A benefit paid to a surviving spouse if the participant dies before retirement.
  • Post-Retirement Survivor Benefit: A benefit paid to a surviving spouse after retirement.
  • Present Value: The current value of a future stream of payments.

Real Estate Terms

  • Costs of Sale: Expenses such as commissions, transfer taxes, settlement fees, attorney fees, recording costs, and other amounts required to transfer a clear title.
  • Net Proceeds: The gross sale price minus all costs of sale.
  • Buyout: One party pays the other for their interest in a jointly owned asset.
  • Hold Harmless / Indemnify: An agreement to protect the other party from financial responsibility for certain debts or claims.
  • Refinance: Replacing an existing loan, often to remove one party’s name from liability.
  • Assumption: When one party agrees to take over responsibility for an existing mortgage loan and remain solely responsible for future payments, subject to lender approval.
  • Equity: The value of property after subtracting all mortgages and liens.
  • Lien: A legal claim against property to secure payment of a debt.
  • Marketable Title: Ownership of property that is clear of legal claims or defects and can be transferred to a buyer.
  • Quitclaim: A legal document that transfers whatever ownership interest a person has in property without warranties.

Support Terms

  • Spousal Support / Maintenance / Alimony: Financial support paid by one party to the other.
  • Modifiable: Support terms may be changed in the future under certain legal standards.
  • Non-Modifiable: Support terms cannot be changed, even if circumstances later change.
  • Termination of Support: The event that ends support, such as remarriage or a specified date.
  • Material Change in Circumstances: A significant change that may justify modification.

Parenting Terms

  • Custody: Decision-making authority regarding major issues such as education and healthcare. Where the children live and how parenting time is shared.
  • Best Interests of the Child: The legal standard Pennsylvania courts apply when reviewing parenting arrangements.
  • Right of First Refusal: If one parent cannot care for the children, the other parent must be offered the opportunity first.
  • Major Decisions: Important decisions affecting a child’s health, education, religion, or welfare.
  • Relocation: A change in residence that significantly impairs the other parent’s custodial rights under Pennsylvania law.

Court & Enforcement Terms

  • Full Disclosure: Each party confirms they have fully and honestly disclosed all assets, debts, and income.
  • Voluntary: Each party signs freely and without coercion.
  • Legal Advice: Each participant has the opportunity to consult with an attorney before signing.
  • Incorporated but Not Merged: The agreement becomes part of the court order but remains enforceable as a contract.
  • Merged: The agreement becomes part of the court’s judgment and is enforced as a court order.
  • Discovery: The formal legal process of requesting financial and other information in a court case. In mediation, parties may choose to waive formal discovery.
  • Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to hear and decide a case.
  • Venue: The proper geographic location where a case is filed.
  • Duress: Improper pressure used to force someone to sign an agreement.
  • Undue Influence: Unfair persuasion that overcomes a person’s free will.

Thank you for choosing mediation!
Each of you has taken an important step toward resolving difficult issues with respect and cooperation. Thank you for trusting me to guide you through this process. If you found mediation helpful, I would be grateful if you shared your experience with others who might benefit from a peaceful approach. Your referral helps other families find a better way forward.

NOT LEGAL ADVICE: The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.

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