Prenuptial Wedding Agreements

All About Prenuptial Wedding Agreements

Nobody really likes to get married thinking they are going to face problems in their marriage. After all, we all love a good ‘happily ever after’ story. However, little and large problems do crop up and they are inevitable. Because of this, you may want to look into prenuptial agreements before getting married. Even though you probably won’t need one, finding out about them can actually provide you with more insight on your own relationship. You might want to consider one, depending on your personal circumstances and assets. Morality aside, agreements can prove to become helpful tools in financial planning.

What is a Prenuptial Agreement?
Prenuptial agreements are relatively new to society. Prenups as they are often called, are binding pre-marriage contracts between two people that state what would legally happen in their relationship if they end up getting a divorce. Basically, this means that the agreement cannot be thrown to the side unless there is proof of duress or fraud. Prenups should thus never be entered into lightly.
To get rid of uncertainty, prenups give the couple the opportunity to decide how their individual and marital properties will be split after marriage. This is done so couples can avoid expensive legal battles if they end up getting a divorce some day.
To make sure that the prenup is truly legalized, you should each hire one lawyer; do not share one. This is to keep the prenup fair and balanced to both parties.

Who Needs a Prenuptial Agreement?
Prenups are most commonly done if one of the persons involved has children from a previous marriage. In such cases, a partner may make use of a prenup to make sure that, even after death, most of his or her property will go to the children rather than the spouse. This is more significant if one partner is much richer than the other or shares a family business. Prenups can also easily open communication lines regarding essential issues that would not even be discussed under other circumstances.
Nowadays, simply having an advanced degree like an MBA is enough to justify obtaining a prenup. Through time, MBAs prove to be worth a lot of money. Along with this degree, the practice itself is highly valuable and will appreciate during the time of marriage, which could turn it into marital property. If you plan on going back to school while you are married and your spouse helps pay for the tuition, it will count as marital property, too.

In conclusion, never wait until the very last minute to make a prenup, as this might come off as a form of pressure towards your spouse and may cause unwanted and unnecessary stress at such close proximity to your wedding day. Prenups must also be signed in front of a notary public; agreements done through spoken words alone will hold no grounds in the future. And courts will not uphold prenups that have nothing to do with money. You can’t sue your spouse for not washing the dishes, for example, even if the agreement states that he promises to do them everyday. Every agreement must be done in plain English, clearly and specifically stating the proper division of assets.