STBXW and I are in agreement on all details, and working on a legally binding agreement. My state (AL) has a 30 day waiting period after filing. We will be filing no fault/no contest, likely submitting electronically.

Expected file date: 1/15/2024 Expected effective date: 2/14/2024 (gotta love that)

She will be paying me a partial lump sum, followed by 36 monthly payments to buy out my equity. I am ok with this, but it does make me a bit nervous as things can change over the course of 3 years. This will be written into our divorce agreement and will be legally binding. We may seek out a mediator attorney to get this agreement written properly. We have used our marriage counselor to facilitate our arbitration, we are extremely amicable, and she manages her finances well.

At what point does money get exchanged? Would it be the lump payment due at the time of the effective date, and then the monthly payments begin after that time?

I appreciate any insight, just trying to get an idea of what the timeline looks like.