The prenup primer, Part 1

One of the most important questions you will have to answer before you get married is whether or not you and your spouse are signing a prenuptial agreement This may not seem like something that carries such significance, mainly because prenups have a negative stigma. They used to be considered taboo contracts, and many people were afraid to utilize prenups because the prevailing thought was that these contracts were “anti-love.”

But today, prenuptial agreements carry such vital protections for married couples and their assets. To not have a prenuptial agreements is to leave your marriage (and potential divorce) up to the basic laws and rules that are set forth by the state.

The best way to think of a prenuptial agreement is to think of the contract as a custom set of rules that only pertain to your marriage. These rules essentially supersede the basic divorce rules set forth by the state.

When you have a prenuptial agreement in place, the contract can protect many aspects of you marriage and divorce. Your assets can be protected; your debts and how they are handled can be addressed; and many other financial and critical issues can be outlined in your prenup.

Now, this isn’t to say that your prenup won’t be scrutinized by the courts. Just because you have a prenup doesn’t necessarily mean that you are completely protected.

We will be diving further into prenuptial agreements over our next few posts, so stay tuned for more details on this very important aspect of divorce law.

Source: FindLaw, “Can Prenuptial Agreements Help You?,” Accessed Nov. 11, 2015