What if We Agree on Some Things but Not Others?

Partial agreement divorce mediation means you and your spouse settle the divorce issues you can agree on, put those agreements in writing, and leave the rest open for more mediation or for a judge to decide. California law lets agreed issues move forward while the others are still being worked out, so you do not have to start over.

Most people facing this point in a divorce have done real work already. Maybe you and your spouse have settled who keeps the house and how the retirement accounts will be split, but you are stuck on spousal support or on the holiday schedule for the children. That can feel like failure, and it raises a fair worry: does the progress count, or does one sticking point undo everything? This article walks through how California treats those agreed pieces, what rules still apply, and what can happen to the issues that remain.

The short version is that progress counts. An agreement on one issue can stand on its own, as long as it is written down properly and the steps the law requires are followed.

What a Partial Agreement Means in a California Divorce

A partial agreement is a written record of the issues you and your spouse have resolved so far. The issues you have not resolved stay open, either for more negotiation or for the court to decide. California does not require a couple to settle everything at once before any agreement can be put on paper.

Two terms come up often. A stipulation is a written agreement between the spouses that is filed with the court so the judge can make it part of a court order. A marital settlement agreement, often called an MSA, is a written contract between spouses that resolves some or all of the divorce issues and is made part of the final judgment. A partial MSA, or a partial stipulated judgment, covers only some issues, such as property, support, custody or any combination of them.

The law leaves room for this. Under Family Code section 2550, the court generally divides the community estate equally, except upon the written agreement of the parties, an oral stipulation in open court, or as otherwise provided in that part of the Family Code. The written agreement of the spouses is built into the rule itself.

A partial agreement does not end the case. The divorce keeps moving on whatever is still unresolved. The California courts' self-help center explains the general divorce process, including how agreements and judgments fit into it.

How Mediation Handles Issues One at a Time

Mediation does not require you to resolve everything in one sitting. You and your spouse can work through one topic, such as the family home, a retirement account or a weekday parenting schedule, reach agreement on it, and record that agreement before turning to the next.

Under Evidence Code section 1115, mediation is a process in which a neutral person helps the people in a dispute communicate so they can reach an agreement they both accept. That neutral person is the mediator. The mediator does not decide anything for you and your spouse, does not represent either of you, and does not take a side. The decisions stay with the two of you.

Agreements reached in mediation are typically written up and signed by both spouses before anything is submitted to the court. That written step matters, because a handshake understanding about the house is very different from a signed document that can become part of a judgment. The divorce mediation agreement process is the bridge between talking and a court order.

Confidentiality is part of why couples can talk openly. Under Evidence Code section 1119, except as the Evidence Code's mediation chapter otherwise provides, what is said and written in a private mediation is generally not admissible or subject to discovery in later noncriminal proceedings, and communications between participants remain confidential. That protection is not absolute. Under Evidence Code section 1123, a written settlement agreement signed by the settling parties can be admitted or disclosed if any of these conditions is met:

• the agreement says it is admissible or subject to disclosure, or words to that effect;
• the agreement says it is enforceable or binding, or words to that effect;
• all parties expressly agree to its disclosure, in writing or orally as the Evidence Code allows; or
• the agreement is used to show fraud, duress or illegality relevant to an issue in dispute.

Because a partial agreement is meant to be relied on, it will often say it is binding, which means it can be shown to the court.

Either spouse may have their own attorney during mediation. Neither of you is required to have one, and neither of you is prevented from having one. When an attorney represents a spouse in mediation, Evidence Code section 1129 requires that attorney to give the client a printed confidentiality disclosure, and to obtain the client's signed acknowledgment, as soon as reasonably possible before the client agrees to take part, or after being retained if that happens later.

What Happens to Resolved Issues While Others Stay Open

Once you and your spouse agree on an issue in writing, that agreement can be filed with the court as a stipulation and made part of a court order. At that point it is no longer only a private understanding; it carries the force of an order.

Where the case is filed depends on your circumstances, such as where you and your spouse live. For a case filed in San Diego County, family law matters are heard by the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego. Couples elsewhere in California file in their own county's superior court, and Simple Divorce Mediation works with couples in San Diego County and, online, with couples anywhere in the state.

A partial stipulated judgment generally keeps resolved issues settled so they are not reopened while you keep working on the rest. If you and your spouse agreed on the house in the spring, that agreement does not have to be renegotiated every time the conversation about support gets hard.

You also do not have to wait until every issue is settled to ask the court to approve what you have already agreed on. The Judicial Branch of California's website at courts.ca.gov offers general information about how California courts handle filings, stipulations and judgments.

Financial Disclosure Requirements That Apply Regardless of Agreement

Mediation does not remove the duty of financial disclosure under California law. Whether you settle one issue or all of them, both of you still complete the declarations of disclosure, sworn statements of your assets, debts, income and expenses. These cannot be skipped, shortened or informally replaced because you are mediating.

The first is the preliminary declaration of disclosure. Under Family Code section 2104(f), each spouse serves it with the petition or response, or within 60 days of filing the petition or response, unless the parties extend that time by written agreement or the court extends it by order. When the petitioner served the summons and petition by publication or posting under a court order, and the respondent files a response before a default judgment is entered, the petitioner has 30 days from that response to serve it. Section 2104 also requires it to identify all assets and debts, regardless of how they are characterized, and to come with a completed income and expense declaration unless a current one has already been provided.

The second is the final declaration of disclosure. Under Family Code section 2105(a), except by court order for good cause, each spouse serves a final declaration of disclosure and a current income and expense declaration before or at the time the parties enter into an agreement resolving property or support issues other than temporary support, or, if the case goes to trial, no later than 45 days before the first assigned trial date, unless the spouses mutually waive the final declaration. For a partial agreement, this timing is worth noticing: an agreement on property or support triggers it.

A waiver must be mutual. One spouse cannot waive it alone. Under section 2105(d), the waiver is executed under penalty of perjury, either in open court or by separate stipulation, and it must include all of these representations:

1. Both parties have complied with section 2104 and exchanged preliminary declarations.
2. Both parties have completed and exchanged a current income and expense declaration that includes all material facts about earnings, accumulations and expenses.
3. Both parties have fully complied with section 2102 and fully updated their preliminary declarations, including all material facts about characterization, valuation and community obligations.
4. The waiver is knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily entered into by each party.
5. Each party understands that the waiver does not limit their disclosure obligations, but is a statement under penalty of perjury that those obligations have been met, and that noncompliance will result in the court setting aside the judgment.

Disclosure is part of what makes a mediated agreement last. Under sections 2104 and 2105, perjury on either declaration may be grounds for setting aside the judgment or parts of it under the Family Code's set-aside chapter (commencing with section 2120). A partial agreement built on full information is one both of you, and the court, can rely on.

Child Support and Custody Agreements: What the Court Reviews

Agreements about children carry an extra layer of review, and parents in the middle of a partial agreement often find this is where the most care is needed. Parents may agree on child support in mediation, but under Family Code section 4065(a), unless federal law prohibits it, that agreement is subject to the court's approval.

The court will not approve an agreed amount below the guideline formula unless the parents declare all of the following: they are fully informed of their rights concerning child support; the order is agreed to without coercion or duress; the agreement is in the best interests of the children; the children's needs will be adequately met by the agreed amount; and the right to support has not been assigned to the county and no public assistance application is pending. The page on child support mediation covers this in more depth.

Custody is handled differently when it is contested. Under Family Code section 3170, if a court filing shows that custody, visitation or both are contested, the court must set those issues for mediation. That court-ordered process is separate from private divorce mediation. In San Diego County, it is child custody recommending counseling with the court's Family Court Services. Section 3170 also provides that domestic violence cases are handled by Family Court Services under a separate written protocol approved by the Judicial Council.

Under Family Code section 3183(a), except as provided in section 3188, the court's mediator may, consistent with local court rules, make a recommendation to the court about custody or visitation, if the recommendation is first provided in writing to the parties and their attorneys before the hearing. A mediator authorized to do this is called a child custody recommending counselor. The recommendation can carry weight, and the judge decides. The page on child custody mediation explains that process further.

Confidentiality rules differ too. Under Evidence Code section 1117(b), the Evidence Code's mediation confidentiality chapter, including sections 1119 and 1123, does not apply to the court's custody mediation proceedings under the Family Code. Those court proceedings are held in private and are confidential under Family Code section 3177. Simple Divorce Mediation is a private practice; it is not part of the court, Family Court Services or any government program.

Timing is the last piece. Under Family Code section 2339, subject to sections 2340 to 2344, a judgment of dissolution generally cannot end the marriage until six months have passed from the date the summons and petition are served or the date the respondent appears in the case, whichever occurs first. It does not run from filing, the court may extend it for good cause, and an agreement, partial or full, does not shorten it.

When a Partial Agreement May Not Be Enough — and What Can Happen Next

Mediation may not be right for every couple. Where there has been domestic violence, coercion or a protective order, safety comes first, and no one should feel pressed to sit down and negotiate with the other spouse. Anyone in immediate danger can call 911.

For couples who can mediate safely, an unresolved issue does not erase the resolved ones. If something cannot be settled in mediation, you and your spouse may submit that issue to the court for a decision while keeping your mediated agreements in place. Returning to mediation later is also possible if the conversation becomes possible again. The page on when divorce mediation fails walks through those paths.

A partial agreement can narrow what the court has to decide. Instead of a judge ruling on the house, the accounts, support and parenting time, the court may only need to address the one or two issues still open. That may make what remains simpler and may feel less adversarial than litigating everything, depending on the couple and the issues. No particular outcome is promised either way.

The self-help center at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov describes, in general terms, what happens when issues go before the court. For an overview of how divorce mediation works in San Diego County and online across California, that page covers the process from start to finish.

If You'd Like to Talk Through Where You and Your Spouse Stand

A partial agreement raises practical questions that depend on your facts: which of your agreed issues are ready to be written up, how the final disclosure timing applies once property or support is settled, and whether the open issues might still be worked through in mediation or are headed for the court. Those are good questions to bring to a conversation, whether you are in San Diego County or elsewhere in California and mediating online. To talk through how a partial agreement could work for you and your spouse, call Simple Divorce Mediation at 858-330-1378 for a joint mediation consultation.

About this article. Reviewed by Amy J. Lass, CA Bar No. 246779. Last updated 2026-10-04.