Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

It seems like prenuptial and postnuptial agreements only factor highly in movies, but they are a necessity for many American couples.

Are you starting a marriage with assets of your own? Kids from another relationship?

Whether it occurs to you before you marry, or the idea comes up after you’ve already said, “I do,” prenuptial and postnuptial agreements protect individual assets and people in a marriage to prevent potential conflicts and avoid disagreements that could harm the relationship.

These agreements are legal documents that outline ownership of items, property, and businesses before a couple marries.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

Prenuptial agreements are common in second marriages where one party was previously divorced or widowed. The goal in these situations is to protect children from a prior marriage as well as to keep property separate.

Also, wealthy individuals may choose to draft prenuptial agreements before marrying for the first time to preserve family assets or future inheritances.

A postnuptial agreement is a similar legal document, but the creation of it takes place after the marriage and there are certain requirements that should exist if it is to be enforceable. Most important, a postnuptial agreement should not encourage or be entered into for the purpose of divorce.

Doing this removes the worry or concern from a relationship, paving the way for the assets to not factor into arguments or strife.