A prenuptial agreement, also known as a “prenup,” is a legally binding agreement, drafted prior to marriage and used to protect the assets and financial interests of either party entering into a marriage, although it is used primarily to protect the interests of the “monied spouse.”
Who Uses a Prenup?
Once seen as only a tool used by those individuals with substantial wealth and assets, prenuptial agreements have become a mainstream legal tool that protects couples from all walks of life and all income levels. These documents can be drafted as simply or as complex as desired and can protect assets such as income from investments held before marriage, real property,complex holdings in assets and financial interests, or the creation of community property during marriage. If you are considering marriage and wish to protect these assets or the income generated from these assets, you should seek the assistance of a qualified family lawyer to ensure that your prenup agreement is drafted properly; to your desires; and that it has legal validity.
Prenuptial agreements are best used to protect assets owned by either spouse prior to an impending marriage. This may be a particularly important issue if one or both spouses has assets or property or they have children from a previous relationship who they wish to have receivebenefit from these assets. By drafting a Prenuptial agreement, these agreements can protect previously acquired assets so that they do not become community property during the impending marriage and remain separate property instead of being allocated or considered as joint property or community property during an eventual divorce or death.
Other Uses for a Prenuptial Agreement
Another common use for a prenuptial agreement is to outline specific duties and responsibilities of the relationship. For example, you may decide that one parent will work while the other parent cares for the children. By agreement, the parties to a marriage can agree and fully understand the duties in child-rearing and what assets will be allocated during the marriage from separate property, thus clearly defining what each party can expect during the course of the relationship as well as clearly defining the equitable value provided by the nonworking spouse. Additionally, a prenuptial agreement can protect the distribution of joint property earned or acquired during the marriage from separate property and in some cases income derived during the marriage from a previously owned or current source of income. As these documents are complex in nature, in order to provide maximum protection for your contribution to the marriage and for the use of separate property assets, it is important to determine what each party will contribute to the marriage and then, consult with aknowledgeable Prenuptial agreement attorney or family law attorney who specializes in drafting prenuptial agreements and in asset protection.
What Prenuptial Agreements Cannot Do
While prenuptial agreements are a great tool for protecting personal assets, they cannot circumvent legal statutes.
For example, in regard to legal statutes, child support is governed by State law. State law governs the calculation of child support and as such, a prenuptial agreement cannot negate any parent’s responsibility to providing financial care for their child(ren) or set an enforceable amount of child support to be paid by a spouse. In regard to prenups and how the spouse receiving the agreement will feel about signing such agreement, there is no way to determine the result of that agreement and how it will affect the marriage. In addition to this the party who is being presented the agreement will be advised to seek the advice of an attorney before signing the agreement. Therefore, negotiations may take place before the agreement is signed.
The law offices of Goldstein & Scopellite, PC, are located in Dallas, Texas and Tucson, Arizona. The firm was established in 2002. For more information, see the Goldstein & Scopellite, PC local listing in D Magazine.
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