A carefully designed prenuptial agreement can solidify your relationship by creating intimacy and building trust between partners! By asking you to have important discussions and making sure your finances are managed the way you want them to be during and after marriage, prenups promote communication and empathy. “At first, my marriage contract seemed one-sided – my husband Ted is divorced and has children from previous marriages,” says California-based Dr. Karina von Middendorf, who first married last November. “Setting up our prenup was a months-long process that involved disagreements and back and forth. But in the end, it was helpful to go through the process as it clarified what our marriage and financial future would look like. Today, about half of all marriages tragically end in divorce. While this conclusion may never be your intention, with such high chances, it`s not a bad idea to protect yourself and your assets from marriage. In addition to seeing the value of a prenup from a professional perspective, Tayne has personally recognized the importance of signing a prenup with her current spouse. Post-uptial contracts can be more expensive because the parties are now married and matrimonial property must be considered. “The process may seem boring, expensive, and even unnecessary, but if there`s a divorce, a well-crafted agreement can be worthy of gold,” says Elizabeth Green Lindsey, Esq., a domestic relations and family law attorney based in Atlanta, Georgia and president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Whether they sign a prenuptial agreement is a very personal decision, and each couple is unique. For example, a spouse wants to protect their family business in the event of a divorce, or maybe a wealthy person wants to protect their assets. In any case, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all couples and you should base your decision on your own unique circumstances. For example, your partner may insist that if they stay at home and raise the children, your prenuptial agreement will include provisions to compensate them for this career break through spousal support. Lee Huffman, a travel reward credit card expert at BaldThoughts.com, signed a marriage contract with his wife Anna 10 years ago. When things don`t work, prenups reduce the pain of divorce. In divorce agreements, assets and debts are divided. If one of you has school debt or plans to take on student debt during the marriage, the marriage specifies who is responsible for repaying that debt. While it may be uncomfortable to talk about these issues before getting married, it`s important to think about all the scenarios now – if you`re in love and reasonable, rather than when you`re in dispute. Although prenuptial agreements have many advantages, there are some disadvantages you should consider before creating one. If you own a business before marriage, a prenuptial agreement may make sense, as a divorce can destroy a family business. If you own a business with other people, their share of the business can also be affected by your divorce.

A prenuptial agreement may allow the party to have full discretion as to how to conduct its business now and in the future. “If one of the spouses started a business before the marriage, that spouse may want to prevent the other spouse from acquiring an interest in the business during the marriage,” Schneider explains. “Forensic accounting issues arise when a business gains value during marriage and a spouse wants to have a stake in that business. A prenup can quantify what that interest is, or it can allow the owning spouse to own the business directly, regardless of the contributions that were made during the marriage. “Moving forward with a prenup is a very personal decision between you and your partner. Some questions you should ask yourself to help you decide if it`s a good idea to get a prenup are: It`s a good idea to remember the proof of ownership before the wedding before you get married to show what you brought to the association. “While each state offers some protection for property you brought in the marriage or received as a gift and/or inherited during the marriage, it`s always a good idea to keep records to show what you owned at the time of the marriage or when you received a gift and/or asked for,” Lindsey explains. “And keep in mind that many financial institutions only keep records for seven years, so keep your bank statements in a safe place or back them up digitally.” Many people worry that discussing these issues, or even mentioning the word “marriage contract,” will cause trouble in their relationship. Often, the exact opposite happens.

One of the most common insurmountable differences that lead to divorce is finances. Talking to your spouse in advance about finances, property, and the management of matrimonial property can help you avoid many of these disagreements. Post-uptial contracts are similar to prenuptial contracts, but occur during marriage after the parties have tied the knot. “They`re just as enforceable as prenuptial agreements,” Lindsey says. “The reasons for such a marriage come differently – sometimes the parties who were not able to conclude the negotiations on the marriage contract before the marriage come back after the marriage, sometimes an inheritance comes before and the parties want to remedy it, sometimes a big liquidity event such as the sale of a business takes place and the parties want to address, what happens to the product. A prenup is not valid if one of the parties is forced to do so against its will. Both parties must enter into the marriage contract voluntarily, and both parties must fully disclose property and financial obligations. .