Before two people get married, they may enter a
prenuptial agreement which establishes the rules and guidelines for dividing assets and debts
in the event of a divorce. Although bringing up a prenup to your fiancée
isn’t the most romantic thing to do, discussing serious financial
matters prior to marriage establishes faith and trust, knowing no one
in the relationship has ulterior motives and ensuring peace of mind in
the future.
When drafting a prenuptial agreement, we recommend including the following
provisions:
-
Identify and divide marital and separate property – When it comes to divorce, one of the most important aspects is
property division. While marital property entails assets both spouses acquired throughout
the marriage, separate property includes assets a spouse owned prior to
getting married or obtained as a gift or inheritance. If a spouse owns
a business, a family heirloom, or is subject to a significant inheritance,
a prenuptial agreement can ensure those assets do not become part of property division.
-
Avoid acquiring your spouse’s debts – One of the most common causes of divorce is money issues. You
may acquire your spouse’s debt and have their creditors harassing
you to come up with the money. However, you can predetermine who will
be responsible for certain debts, instead of splitting all debts down
in half can reduce the stress associated with divorce.
-
Protect your kids from a previous marriage – Many people who remarry often draft prenups to ensure the inheritance
(e.g. family business or heirloom) and financial care of the children
from a past relationship.
-
Establish
alimony – In many marriages, one spouse has a higher income in the family
or one spouse chooses to stay at home to raise the children, rather than
fulfill her career goals. In the event of divorce, the lower earning-spouse
may be entitled to financial support from the higher-earning spouse. A
prenuptial agreement can include a provision which covers temporary and/or
long-term alimony payments. As long as both parties agree, there can be
limits to how long payments can last, typically once the supported spouse
becomes financially independent or remarries.
-
Defines marriage responsibilities – Prenups are not just for divorce protection. They are also be used
to outline responsibilities in marriage, such as who oversees and takes
care of household bills, who will manage the joint bank accounts, how
much each spouse will contribute to the savings, etc.
If you are interested in drafting a prenuptial agreement,
contact our Daytona Beach family law attorney at the
Law Offices of Robert Stepniak today.