Getting married is often one of the best events of your life, and you don’t want to think about what would happen if it didn’t work out. Most people get married, intending it to last until “death do you part,” so a prenuptial agreement may not be something they’d consider. While they’ve been around for many thousands of years, not every couple gets a prenuptial agreement. Should you?
Prenuptial Agreement Benefits
You don’t want your marriage to end up in divorce, but you should also prepare for the worst case scenario when you get married. Some benefits of a prenuptial agreement include:
- Forcing the couple to examine certain financial matters before they enter into the marriage.
- Allowing family ties to be preserved and inheritances to stay intact.
- Protecting children from a previous marriage or relationship.
- Putting all expectations on the table before sealing the deal with a legal marriage.
- Learning more about your spouse’s desires and expectations for the marriage, as well as how he or she would handle separation or divorce.
- Allowing the couple to avoid battles and arguments over commonly fought over issues during other divorce proceedings.
- Protecting personal assets accumulated before the marriage.
- Determining which assets each spouse would leave to children or each other if one of them dies.
Prenuptial Agreement Pitfalls
Not every couple signs a prenuptial agreement, whether that’s due to religious beliefs or personal convictions. Some pitfalls might include:
- The appearance of planning your divorce before you even plan your wedding.
- A lack of commitment due to the benefits one might achieve through divorce.
- An unromantic and uncomfortable evening of sitting down and discussing divorce when a couple is often in the midst of the most romantic period of their lives together.
- The possibility the prenuptial agreement would be set aside due to fraud, unfairness, duress or other issues.
- The cause of contention and resentment that lasts throughout the marriage.
- Always having the terms and conditions in the back of your mind, even when the marriage is seemingly happy.
Hiring a Family Lawyer To Help
If you’re engaged to be married, this might be a wonderful time for you. Whether you or your future spouse want a prenuptial agreement, you have to both agree on whether it’s right or wrong for you as a couple. When you’re ready to get started, or if you want to learn more, contact a local divorce lawyer to help you make those important decisions.