Many couples have signed prenuptial agreements to protect their assets in the event they get divorced. It's also common for couples who have considerable assets to sign a postnuptial agreement once they have gotten married. Now, a recent poll of divorce attorneys indicates that there has been a rise in the number of postnuptial agreements that are being drawn up.
A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers has found that half of the lawyers polled in the survey indicated that they have seen an increase in the number of couples who want postnuptial agreements over the last three years. And, while protecting assets and limiting liabilities are usually common reasons for preparing a postnuptial agreement, lawyers cited in the survey identified other common reasons for the rise.
According to the president of the AAML, another frequent reason cited is that one spouse may have had an affair during the marriage and the other spouse believes that by forgiving their significant other they might lose some specific rights if they get divorced at a later date. The offended spouse might then demand a postnuptial agreement from their significant other as a condition for getting back together.
However, the poll also indicated that another reason for the rise could be from spouses who want to re-commit to a broken relationship by offering their partner additional assets if their marriage doesn't hold together. For instance, one spouse may want to show the other that they are committed to their marriage by transferring a highly regarded asset to the spouse. A postnuptial agreement is then written stating that this specific asset cannot be considered a marital asset in the event they get divorced.
The results from this poll seem to indicate that postnuptial agreements are now being used for many different reasons. However, any Virginia resident who is interested in developing a postnuptial agreement may want to speak with a family law attorney in order to find out if this type of document can be beneficial to them.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Why Postnuptial Agreements Are on the Rise," Veronica Dagher, March 10, 2016
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