Prenuptial agreements have long-since been stereotyped as documents limited to extremely wealthy couples, but anyone can benefit from these binding contracts. When a couple decides to marry, there are plenty of financial and legal issues that have yet to be decided, and a prenuptial agreement can serve as a way to designate how finances and such will be handled in the marriage. A prenuptial agreement can also help establish how assets would be divided if the couple should ever decide to get a divorce. If you are considering creating a prenuptial agreement, discover the ways in which it could benefit you as an individual and both you and your spouse as a married unit.
A prenuptial agreement is a document established between two individuals before their marriage has taken place in order to designate the responsibilities and rights of each party, especially as it pertains to individual and marital assets. This is where the idea that prenuptial agreements are for the rich comes into play—the more assets you have the more important it may be to designate your right to those assets should you and your partner ever end your marriage.
When properly drafted, a prenuptial agreement will be able to specify:
- The individual and shared ownership of certain properties
- Who will be held responsible for what debts, and which will be shared
- The ownership of family heirlooms
- How to provide for children from prior marriages or relationships
- The financial obligations and responsibilities of each person while married
- The financial obligations and responsibilities of each person if the marriage ends, such as spousal support, custody of children, and division of assets
By outlining these details as they pertain to finances and business or property maintenance, couples may establish how they will share responsibilities in their marriage. The specifics can also designate how those responsibilities and assets should be divided if the couple should ever choose to dissolve their marriage, or in the event that one spouse should die.
Many of these specific points can cover a multitude of issues. One of the biggest advantages of having a prenuptial agreement is that you can have it drafted specifically to meet the needs of you and your soon-to-be spouse. In the event of a divorce, having a detailed prenuptial agreement will also help you and your spouse separate more quickly and with less argument because most of your financial details will have already been decided on. While nobody wants to plan for such an unfortunate ending, it can certainly be beneficial to protect your financial and business interests before you get stuck in an emotional legal battle.
Failing to create a prenuptial agreement could lead to financial disagreements or misunderstandings in a marriage, and could make a divorce much more complicated than necessary. Without a prenuptial agreement, a divorcing couple would need to discuss how their funds and assets will be divided while also dealing with the heightened emotions that usually accompany the divorce process.
If you are interested in creating a prenuptial agreement to protect your individual assets and financial freedoms in your marriage, our firm can help. At the Law Office of Pamela C. Bratcher, our attorney understands that each person's needs are different, which is why she will create an agreement that works best for you. Rather than seeing a prenuptial agreement as a pessimistic or negative way to enter into a marriage, our legal team knows that such documents can serve to help couples find security in the financial agreements within their matrimonial state.
Contact Law Office of Pamela C. Bratcher for a case evaluation in Bowling Green, KY.
