What’s the essence of a prenuptial agreement right before our big wedding date?
First of all, we have to address the elephant in the room and that’s the question, the meaning of prenuptial agreements. We’ll also take a look at how prenuptial agreements affect the overall marriage life.
Prenuptial agreement is a binding contract between two parties that are about to get married. It is basically an agreed guideline that establishes the terms for splitting up both parties’ assets and responsibilities should the marriage collapse.
The state legislation sets the basic principle and the main guidelines of things both parties can and can’t include in the prenuptial agreement. This means that not every state will have the same rules so we recommend seeking help from a competent attorney who knows all the ins and outs of the state legislation.
Prenuptial Agreement: What Is It For and What Does It Do?
It is common knowledge in modern society that marriages that end in a divorce usually involve a lot of time, money, and emotional stress. For those people who wanted to save themselves the trouble of experiencing these predicaments, signing up for this agreement might be the best choice. In order to achieve mutual understanding for this, it is advisable that the parties disclose all necessary details including their assets, debts, and everything in between.
Dealing With Assets
In most cases, couples who are in the first leg of divorce need to identify some details, which are usually the assets involved. What most attorneys will do is that they list down all the properties with monetary value and determine if the asset is separate or marital property.
●Separate Properties – These are assets owned before the marriage took place. Gifts or inheritance are also considered separate property.
●Marital Properties – Marital properties, on the other hand, are assets acquired within the timeline of marriage.
The court usually divides marital property equally between both parties. However, most of the time, marital properties are divided in a manner that the court considers being fair to both parties.
Dealing With Debts
The majority of divorces cases we see involve the financial aspect of life, especially debts. If you wanted to avoid this pitfall, it is recommended to add a provision in the agreement on how they should address debt. The same concept applies to marital and separate, but instead of properties, it is listed as liabilities.
This kind of information is vital to the divorce proceeding and with a prenuptial agreement, both parties will have a smoother process. The allocation of debts and assets are already preset, which saves them time and effort.
Prenuptial agreements are also vital if ever their kids from other marriages were involved. It is advisable that the assurance of our kids’ share will be given to them properly.
We have to consider all of this information if we’ll face a certain situation that requires a divorce. Well, we can go on the long path and start cramming our way towards stuff during the first leg of our divorce proceeding, or we can sort everything out from the get-go and be ready should the unfortunate time comes. Now that is the power of prenuptial agreements.
Based on Materials from Nolo
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