Two members of the class will role-play in front of the rest of the class a negotiation session involving a husband and wife who want to enter a separation agreement. They have two children, ages two and three. Each member of the class (including the two role-players) will draft a separation agreement based upon the understandings reached at the negotiation session. The role-players can make up the facts as they go along, e.g., names of the parties, addresses, kinds of assets involved. Use the checklist on pages 229-230 as an overview of the topics to be negotiated. In the negotiation session, the role-players should not act hostile toward each other. They should be courteous but anxious to protect their own rights. Finally, they should not leave any matters unresolved—everything should result in some form of agreement through the process of bargaining and negotiation.

The separation agreement that results from this session should conform to the standards for an effective separation agreement outlined in Exhibit 8.1.

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Exhibit 8.1 Characteristics of an Effective Separation Agreement 1. Comprehensive. It covers all major matters. Should a problem arise months or years later, the parties will not have to say, "We never thought of that when we drafted the agreement." 2. Fair. If the agreement is not fair to both sides, it may be un- workable, which will force the parties into expensive and po- tentially bitter litigation. Hence the worst kind of legal assis- tance a law office can provide is to "outsmart" the other side into "giving up" almost everything. Little is accomplished by winning the war, but losing the peace. "You gain no advan- tage in depriving your ex-spouse of what he/she is entitled to. Remern ber, your ex-spouse has the ability to make your life miserable." Mississippi State Bar, Family Law Section, Con- sumers Guide to Divorce 4 (1990). 3. Accurate. The agreement should accurately reflect the in- tentions of the parties. What they orally agreed to do in formal or informal bargaining sessions should be stated in the written agreement. No clause in the agreement should ever prompt one of the parties to exclaim, "That's not what we agreed to do!" 4. Legal. Certain things can and cannot be done in a separa- tion agreement; the agreement must not attempt to do any- thing that is illegal. 5. Readable. The agreement should be written in language that the parties can understand without having to hire or re- hire an attorney every time a question arises.