An agreement is useful only if it applies where the children live and the assets are located. Its form matters as much as its content.
In France: family-court approval for a parenting agreement (Article 373-2-7 of the Civil Code) or mediation agreement (Article 1534 of the Code of Civil Procedure); an enforcement clause affixed by the court registry for an agreement from mediation, conciliation or a participatory procedure countersigned by each party’s lawyer (Article L. 111-3 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures and Article 1568 of the Code of Civil Procedure), for rights the parties may freely dispose of. For children’s matters, court approval remains preferable.
Within the EU, divorce and parental-responsibility agreements with binding legal effect in their State of origin circulate with a certificate (Brussels II ter, Articles 65 and 66). A mediation agreement made enforceable in another Member State is recognized and declared enforceable in France (Article 1535 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Outside the EU, the agreement is most often approved in every country concerned through dual approval or mirror decisions, or the 1996 Hague Convention is used for measures concerning children.
This protection needs planning from the start of negotiations or mediation: language, form, required particulars and competent court in each country.