Prenuptial agreements (prenups) and postnuptial agreements (postnups) sometimes come up in divorces. Personally, I don’t work with postnup situations. They are oftentimes found to be unenforceable and as a result, I think they put lawyers in a tricky position. However, prenups, if done properly, are very much enforceable and courts adhere to them. I will discuss prenups more on this page.
What is a Prenuptial Agreement?
Prenuptial agreements are agreements that a couple make before their marriage takes place. The agreement is to what will happen in terms of alimony and the division of their assets in the event of their divorce. If divorce does become a reality down the line, the couple can refer to their prenuptial agreement to make the divorce go smoother. They will already have many of the provisions necessary in divorce worked out from the prenuptial agreement. This can act as a roadmap for the divorce and speed up the process, as well as reduce fighting in divorce.
Prenup agreements have to be done by competent counsel. You have to have all of your assets valued, and you have to have everything disclosed. If you do all of that, the prenuptial agreement is certainly a good planning tool and it can bring people a lot of comfort. But, it has to be done appropriately where everything is disclosed and everything is valued. In this case, they’re effective, and courts uphold them.
In a prenuptial agreement, you can only work with financial assets. You don’t make custody agreements until you are going through the divorce process. This is because you can’t make agreements about children that you don’t yet have in a prenuptial agreement. In addition, feelings about custody may change drastically over time.
Getting Help
If you are getting married and you and your fiance are interested in having a prenup agreement drawn up, contact our office. We can provide resources to help you with this process. If you already have a prenuptial agreement and you want to get a divorce, give us a call and we can see how this agreement can be used in your specific divorce situation. Our office is happy to help!