If you’re about to get married, then you may find yourself concerned about a number issues; not least amongst them is your finances. Sure, you’ve probably discussed a budget with your soon-to-be-spouse, but since you’ve likely heard a number of horror stories involving divorce and financial ruin, you might be worried about what will happen should your relationship with your spouse sour.
One way that this fear can be laid to rest is by creating a prenuptial agreement. These agreements can lay out how financial matters will be addressed in the event of divorce. For example, a prenuptial agreement can ensure that one’s separate property is protected from property division in the event of divorce. Additionally, a prenuptial agreement can spell out how debt will be doled out if the marriage comes to an end.
Although such agreements can put financial fears to rest pre-marriage, they must be clearly written and legally valid in order to be enacted as intended. An agreement that is totally one-sided or that contains terms that are not legally allowed to be contained in one of these agreements could wind up being found invalid. When this happens, an individual can be left in a much more precarious financial situation than he or she ever imagined.
This is why if you are considering creating a prenuptial agreement you might want to discuss the matter with a qualified family law professional. He or she can help you figure out which terms to include in the agreement, how to address them and even how to discuss the matter with your significant other. Even if you’re married but think you could have benefited from a similar agreement, an attorney may be able to help you create a postnuptial agreement to address the same issues, including property division and alimony.