Should I Get a Prenup?

A prenuptial agreement saves you a lot of money and time should your marriage not work out. Usually referred to as a prenup, this document details how your assets and debts are going to be distributed if your marriage ends.

Couples getting ready to marry seldom want to think about the end of their marriage. However, it’s a fact that about half of all marriages end in divorce, even though divorce rates have fallen in recent years. Preparation for worst-case scenarios is key to anything in life. Marriage is no different.

What is a Prenup?

A prenup determines the financial and property rights of each spouse should the marriage end in a divorce. Prenups are similar to estate planning. You devise a will for leaving items to your children or heirs, guaranteeing each person gets an invaluable item. A prenup allows you to establish who gets what if you get divorced.

A prenup mulls over the end of your marriage so you can split assets with a neutral viewpoint. It could even help safeguard your business.

Prenups allow you to establish whether spousal maintenance (alimony) is going to be due if the marriage comes to an end and the amount and conditions of those payments. And they can establish what kind of bequeathals you leave to one another in your wills.

Should I Get a Prenup?

Should you be asking yourself: “Do I need a prenup?” You most likely do. It could be worth any early uneasiness to have a prenup’s possible value in the future. Prenups are increasingly viewed as a means to encourage trust and open communication concerning finances between spouses.

Prenups can be specifically useful for those trying to keep individual significant pieces of personal property, comprising of future inheritances and other anticipated income. This motivation is common among couples with a big age or wealth difference and among older or remarrying couples.

If a couple enters a marriage with few of these matters to address, prenups can be particularly important because their circumstances may change drastically. In fact, couples who still have a lot of their lifetime assets and debts in advance of them are some of the best contenders for a prenup.

How Much Does a Prenup Cost?

The cost of a prenup can differ wildly subject to your state, your lawyer and how complex your case is.

In some simple examples it could cost as little as five hundred dollars. In other cases, a prenup could cost between two thousand and six thousand dollars per person.

The cost really is subject to how sophisticated the agreement is, how organized the parties are and the cooperative character of the opposing lawyer.

Prenups Aren’t Just for the Rich

Whereas extremely wealthy people use prenups most often, typically to safeguard familial assets or wealth earned prior to marriage, prenups can be a good device for almost everybody. Even those of modest means can find benefit in a prenup.

Some people are concerned that devising a prenup will make it more possible they will divorce. If your relationship can’t endure financial planning prior to marriage, it probably won’t endure the financial difficulties marriage itself brings.

Safeguard Family Heirlooms

To clarify, your prenup doesn’t have to consider every item and asset you are the owner of, or every divorce situation. You can devise a prenup for one purpose‌.

If you acquired a family heirloom as an inheritance and want to be sure that if your marriage comes to an end, you’ll get to retain that item, you can create a prenup that declares that the family heirloom is yours. The prenup can also indicate that items you inherit throughout marriage are going to remain your individual property.

Pass Property to Children from Previous Marriages

A lot of prenups are used to determine property rights for second marriages. If you have children from a previous marriage, you may want to safeguard their interests in your property and assets.

Through a prenup, you can detail what property should remain separate from the marriage, safeguarding that property, should your marriage end. Merging this with correct estate planning, you can guarantee pre-marital property goes where you wish.

Clarify Financial Rights

Prenups are specifically for financial issues. Whether you come into the marriage with considerable assets or you have next to nothing, you can choose now how assets are going to be divided instead of waiting until divorce proceedings.

Whereas divorce may never come, working out the financial distribution sooner than later saves time and will lower stress. Contemplate the split now and hope you will never need to depend on your prenup.

Debt Safeguarding

Prenups also provide debt safeguarding, going side by side with defining financial rights. Many people get married with substantial financial debts or debts from student loans.

For those in this situation, they can enter a prenup and declare that those debts remain the individual responsibility of the spouse that incurred them. They can also decide how debts incurred throughout the marriage will be dealt with. Finances can create colossal issues in a divorce and making that clear now can be helpful and economical.

Avoiding Emotional Arguments

Divorce is going to be emotional. Even if you know it’s the right thing to do it’s still an overpowering and unsettling process.

When you are negotiating with your spouse concerning who gets what, emotions often run heated and could cloud your judgment concerning asset allocation. Reflecting on these items, thinking clearly is better for everyone involved.

How to Obtain a Prenup

You can have lawyers negotiate and create a prenup, or you and your spouse can devise your own.

How to Draft Your Own Prenup

Creating your own prenup, or any legal documentation, is not suggested. There are complicated state laws you are going to need to follow regarding the drafting and signing of a prenup. If you want to devise your own prenup, there are several items for you to consider.

Bear in mind that you are still going to need a lawyer to examine any prenup you create. You need a legal proponent to safeguard your rights and guarantee the contract is legitimate in your state.

Making Your Prenup Valid

Prenups are becoming more common, and courts eyeball them less than in the past. So, if you are creating your own, be sure you understand what you are signing.

When drafting your prenup, keep it concise. Don’t ‌write it in “lawyer talk” and make it unclear. That is just going to make a court question its legitimacy. In most states the agreement should not be signed instantly prior to the wedding since this could create intimidation.

A lot of states require that each party have their own lawyer review the document for it to be legitimate. Never sign a prenup without first comprehending your rights and making sure the agreement is legitimate. Be sure each of the parties sign the prenup. In some states, you may also have to sign in the presence of a notary public who will guarantee each person is signing without coercion.

Conditions in Your Prenup

Your prenup should examine property and financial rights. To be completely clear, you’ll need to provide each other with honest financial information and disclose all of your assets and liabilities.

A lot of prenups are going to include a stipulation stating both parties have been clear and honest. If it’s discovered that neither party was not, the agreement will probably be invalid.

You cannot use a prenup to get somebody to marry you. Prenups cannot provide somebody with money, assets or other items as “payment” for getting married.