With all the positive vibes and joys associated with thoughts of a marriage and a lifetime of happiness, the last thing a soon-to-be married couple would want to discuss is the chance of the marriage failing. Unfortunately, in reality, approximately half of marriages in America ultimately fail. And when the marriage fails and spouses go into divorce proceedings, things can get ugly.
Emotions inevitably running high, and it is not always easy to make the best decision during the process of a divorce. And considering how much needs to be determined, from alimony to property division, it may take its toll on both parents. This is why more and more couples have created prenuptial agreements, or prenups. These agreements can cover many aspects of marriage, and may save spouses from much headaches and decision-making if the marriage takes a turn for the worse. So what are included in a prenup?
Prenups may be used to protect a spouse from the other spouse's debts; it may be used to protect family property and to assure that children from a previous relationship are also included in an inheritance. A prenuptial agreement may also be used to establish property distribution in the event of a divorce, which may allow you to bypass existing laws concerning property division.
Although it varies by state, Virginia does allow prenuptial agreements to include decisions regarding alimony as well. It may be an uncomfortable topic of discussion for spouses on the eve of a marriage, but as you can see, creating a prenuptial agreement before a marriage does have significant mutual benefits.
Source: findlaw.com, "What Can and Cannot be Included in Prenuptial Agreements," Accessed on Oct. 27, 2016
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