An agreement made prior to entering into a civil marriage agreement and/or subsequent marital ceremony is called a “prenuptial agreement,” or an “ante-nuptial agreement” and sometimes a “pre-marital agreement,” but no matter what name this type of contractual agreement is given it will serve the same purpose. The prospective martial partners will be able to limit aspects of their marital agreement such as defining property rights and property division elements should there be a divorce or a death of one of the spouses and similar types of limitations as applicable to each specific couple in view of age, asset possessions, pre-existing family responsibilities and other considerations. It is interesting to note that pre-nuptial agreement will not be upheld if a court finds that the agreement itself was drafted in a manner that promoted a divorce such as an agreement that including a huge alimony payment should there be a divorce or unfair agreements such as where a spouse agrees to give up any rights or interests in the future earnings of the other spouse without first obtaining the advice of an attorney.
Uniform Pre-Nuptial Agreement Act
There is a Uniform Pre-Nuptial Agreement Act that provides guidelines for drafting valid pre-nuptial agreements. The Act specifically prohibits couples from including any agreements regarding the provision of child support for prospective marital children. The Act has not been adopted by all States and in those where it has not been adopted there are usually State specific guidelines in statutory form that will regulate the drafting of a valid pre-nuptial agreement. There are many States that will only enforce a pre-nuptial agreement that addresses issues of property division and ownership upon a divorce or death of a spouse. These States will not enforce an agreement in which a spouse agrees to give up spousal support rights or rights to alimony for any reason.
Getting Legal Help
If you or your significant other are contemplating marriage and would like to consider the possibility of drafting and entering into a pre-nuptial agreement prior to your marriage ceremony if would be important to access the experience and guidance that a divorce attorney can provide. An attorney can draft a binding pre-nuptial contract that the expectant spouses could expect would be upheld in a court of law should there be a death of a spouse or a dissolution of the marriage at a later date. There are many “law of contracts” elements and “family and probate law” elements that an attorney would observe and apply in properly drafting a pre-nuptial agreement.
