This was part of my divorce settlement and it worked out well. I had to calculate costs of education and that helped us determine the settlement amount. The money I got however was not tied to my going back to school (which I think is what eskielover is warning against)--it just helped determine the amount. I guess if I had wanted to I could have just banked the money or spent it on something else, but I didn't. I went back to school. It is good to do things like calculate the costs of the things you will need the money for--living expenses, retraining/education, etc. This helps justify to the other side why you need the amount of money you propose in the settlement.

A good book to read on the topic of settlements and the variety of things that can go into them is: Fair Share Divorce for Women by Kathleen Miller. It contains some really creative solutions and is good for both women and men to read. (I think the title would put men off, though, so I think that was a bad choice of words!)