While a prenuptial agreement does not look romantic at first glance, there is nothing more loving than planning your future with someone. This contract is not entirely about what happens in the event of a divorce, though this may be an important aspect of it. It is also an agreement that can lay out how you plan to handle your finances and estate. To learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of prenuptial agreements, contact me today.
The Advantages of Prenuptial Agreements
There are many advantages to creating a prenuptial agreement prior to entering into a marriage, including:
- If you and your are entering into a marriage with vastly different financial backgrounds, a prenup can lay out how you will comingle – or keep separate – your finances. This can be crucial when one spouse brings a great deal more debt to the marriage than the other.
- A prenup can define how each of you wish to handle your individual property, including keeping it separate from the marital estate. It can also define what will be considered communal property.
- You and your fiancé can lay the ground rules for how financial and other major decisions will be handled in the future.
- If you have children or grandchildren from a previous relationship, a prenup can protect their inheritances, ensuring this new marriage or potential heirs do not disrupt what they are set to receive when you pass away. Similarly, the prenup can provide a set inheritance for a financially dependent spouse in order to protect his or her future.
- If you make a great deal more money than your fiancé, a prenup can limit or define the amount of alimony you would be required to pay if you divorce. If you are the financial dependent spouse it can set alimony to provide you with a predetermined amount to assure you of financial security.
- If one of you owns a business, the prenup can keep this separate from the marital assets and protect it in case of a divorce.
- If you agree to leave school or a career during the marriage, the prenup can determine how you would be compensated for this sacrifice in the event of a divorce.
The Disadvantages of Prenuptial Agreements
Prenuptial agreements are not perfect, and they are not right for every couple. There are some key disadvantages to prenuptial agreements that might turn you off from this type of contract, including:
- A prenup may require you give up a right you would otherwise have gained as a spouse, including your right to inherit certain assets from your spouse when he or she passes.
- If your fiancé’s business is separated from the marital estates by the prenup, you may never be able to financially benefit from the business, even if you participate in making it a success.
- If you earn less than your spouse during the marriage and the prenup limits alimony upon divorce, you may have to live a much different lifestyle than you grew accustomed to.
- There is no way to predict the future, which means a prenup may become less relevant and appropriate overtime.
- Since a prenup may heavily focus on divorce, it can create a sense of distrust or pessimism at the beginning of the marriage.
Contact my Office for Legal Advice
If you and your fiancé are starting your marriage with little to your names but small savings accounts and your apartment furniture, there may be few reasons for you to consider a prenuptial agreement. However, if you and your spouse are older, have your own wealth, expect significant inheritances, or have children from previous relationships, then a prenup may be appropriate. Call my office today and schedule an initial consultation to learn more about prenuptial agreements.
