A settlement is the resolution of a lawsuit or a legal dispute before a lawsuit is filed or tried. Most court cases are resolved through a settlement. A divorce settlement resolves the outstanding issues in a divorce in the same way that it would in any other lawsuit.

If the parties submit to voluntary or mandatory mediation, and reach an agreement, the document outlining that agreement is the divorce settlement.

The terms of the agreement are fully enforceable as if the parties went to trial and the judge signed off on any agreement and making it a court order.

Similarly, if the parties to the divorce go to trial and reach a settlement before the trial is complete, any agreement would be the divorce settlement.

It is also possible to settle some issues through a divorce settlement and have the court decide any issues that cannot be agreed upon through negotiation or mediation.