Check exactly which claims you’re releasing (known AND unknown?), the payment terms and timing, confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations, and tax treatment. Once signed, it’s essentially final.
A settlement agreement trades your claims for consideration — and the release language defines exactly how much you’re giving up. Scrutinize its breadth: claims "known and unknown" reaching beyond this dispute is a broad release; make sure the payment matches its width. Verify payment mechanics: amount, deadline, and consequences of nonpayment (does the settlement void, or must you sue on it?). Read the ride-along obligations — confidentiality, non-disparagement, non-cooperation — and their penalties. Understand tax character: settlement types are taxed differently, and the agreement’s wording affects it. Settlements are designed to be final; buyer’s remorse has no legal remedy. The time for questions is before your signature.
Almost never — settlements are enforced as binding contracts, and courts favor their finality. Extreme circumstances like fraud are the rare exceptions.
It depends on what the payment compensates — different components are taxed differently. The agreement’s allocation language matters; get tax input on significant amounts.
Upload the actual document and Main AI reads every clause, flags the risks, extracts the deadlines, and cites the law — free to start, no signup to see your first analysis.
Run the Contract Analyzer — free →