Prenuptial agreements have a very important place in family law; however, this doesn’t mean that everyone is going to have one in place when they get married. Many people opt not to work on a prenuptial agreement. Sometimes this is because they might not understand the purpose of one and other times it is because they feel they don’t need one.
If you are getting married, you should make sure that you understand the purpose and scope of a prenuptial agreement so that you can decide if it is a good option for your case.
On the negative side, premarital agreements might not seem like a good way to start out the marriage. Some people view these agreements as something that signals you don’t think the marriage is going to work. While this is understandable, you should realize that having a prenuptial in place can add stability to the marriage because it lays out a clear plan about what will happen if things don’t work out.
If you or your betrothed is going into the marriage with any assets, those can be included in the prenuptial agreement so that the ownership of the items is clearly documented. This can help to make the division of property easier if the marriage does end.
The prenuptial agreement can also include an assignment of debts, which is important if one or both parties are going into the marriage with debt, such as credit card debt or student loans. In this case, it could offer protection against having to pay that aren’t your debts to pay.
The points that can be included in prenuptial agreements vary greatly. You should think about what you would want added and determine if those are valid points to include. If you do opt to draw up a prenuptial agreement, you should make sure that it is presented and signed in a legally binding manner.
Source: FindLaw, “How to Determine if a Prenuptial Agreement is Right for You,” accessed Jan. 20, 2017