We've all heard of prenuptial agreements, either through characters on TV shows or high-paid celebrities, who always seem to be fighting over them. We think of them as documents that protect a spouse from having to part with a huge chunk of money in a divorce. While this is true, prenups can do a lot more than just that.
A prenuptial agreement can:
- Protect spouses from each other's debts.
- Detail what is marital property and what belongs just to you.
- Take care of children from a spouse's previous marriage.
- Detail marital responsibilities. For instance, a prenup can say who will handle the joint bank account, who will manage the household bills and how to put one spouse (or both) through school.
- Keep family heirlooms in the family.
- Determine how to handle future disagreements.
Prenups cannot include:
- Anything about child custody, visitation or child support. These things would be decided during the divorce process.
- Anything that's illegal.
- Anything that encourages one member of the couple to divorce. For example, you cannot add a clause giving your spouse a financial incentive for ending the marriage.
- Waive alimony rights. That's another thing that will be decided based on the particulars of your situation during the divorce.
- Any non-financial, personal matters like who will do the chores, where you will go on vacation or how to raise the children.
If you have questions about getting a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot, a family law attorney can answer them and may be able to help you draft one.
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