A prenuptial agreement is a contract that settles, prior to marriage, issues of assets, debt, and much more, should the marriage end in divorce. Prenups, or premarital contracts, commonly involve the input of both fiancés and their attorneys, and must be carefully crafted.
Creating a Prenuptial Agreement
Here are several things to keep in mind when creating a prenuptial agreement:
- Prenups are valid and can be enforced throughout the US, and many states have adopted what’s the “Uniform Premarital Agreement Act,” or UPAA, to provide standards for creating prenups. Do a little research on the UPAA to familiarize yourself with the terms and process of creating prenups.
- While some things, like child custody and visitation cannot be addressed in a prenuptial, make sure that your prenuptial agreement addresses the following areas:
- Who is responsible for which debts that are accumulated during marriage
- Who pays the debts that are created during the pre-marital period?How will property that is attained during the marriage be divided should the marriage end in divorce?
- How much support will one spouse will be responsible for paying after marriage and how long that support will go on for
- In many states, a spouse cannot waive alimony in the prenuptial agreement, so avoid efforts to preclude future alimony payments if you want your prenup to be upheld in court.
When creating a prenup, do not:
- Try to save money by not hiring a lawyer, at least to examine your prenup before you sign it. Hiring an attorney will guarantee that your agreement takes into account varying state statutes and that it will hold up in court. Hiring separate attorneys may be even better to ensure that both of your interests are adequately represented.
- Wait too long to create a prenup. Discuss it early on in your engagement, and take the time necessary to create a prenup that will stand up in court.
- Wait until your wedding day to sign your prenup. Doing so will make it more likely that your prenup will be contested later, because signing too close to your wedding day may make it appear that you were coerced into signing.
- Forget to stipulate that your prenuptial agreement does not go into effect unless the marriage lasts for a particular period of time, and is invalid if one or the other spouse is unfaithful during the marriage.
Getting Help
An experienced and qualified lawyer can help you draft a prenup that covers all pertinent matters and that will be considered legally enforceable. Before you either write or sign a prenup, it is essential you get the advice of an attorney to ensure your rights are adequately protected.
