You should consider a Premarital Agreement if you have significant assets or if you are entering a second marriage with children from a previous marriage.
It is hard to think about death at such a happy time in your lives, but neither of you will live forever. Will your new spouse share your remaining assets with your children from a previous marriage? Will his adult children force you out of the home after his death? Prenuptial agreements can answer those questions, providing peace of mind as you join together as a married couple.
While most couples like to believe their marriage will last forever, according to different studies, 60-67 percent of second marriages end up breaking apart, and 70-73 percent of third marriages fail. Personal assets and financial holdings acquired before and during the marriage can become part of a divorce without a valid prenuptial agreement. In other words, what was yours before marriage may become your spouse’s after a divorce if a Prenuptial Agreement does not protect you.
At Leibenguth Law, We believe a prenuptial agreement can be compatible with romanticism. Instead of protecting yourself, think of it as pre-marriage planning. How will your household bank account work once you are married? How will you two own your home moving forward? Will your retirement assets work for you or both after your wedding? Will her inheritance be part of your household budget? Will you get new credit cards or use your separately held cards?
Don’t we all wish they taught high school kids to work out those details before they marry? So why shouldn’t we now that we are older and a bit wiser?
It is time to move past the confrontational viewpoints in creating these essential agreements.
Soon-to-be-married persons should view themselves as partners in crafting an important marriage agreement rather than as adversaries.
That is the concept behind the mediated prenuptial agreement. Done right, getting a prenuptial agreement does not have to be a one-sided adversarial experience like you see on television. In mediating prenuptial agreements, couples decide together while celebrating their union how they wish to take care of themselves in case one of them passes or if their marriage doesn’t last a lifetime. You can each consult with separate attorneys before signing the prenuptial agreement. But the agreement created in mediation will be of your choosing, not something created by an attorney who you do not know or does not know what is important to both you and your betrothed.
Getting a prenuptial agreement through mediation is a great way for couples to take ownership of their relationship from the start and demonstrate that they are willing to work together on tough issues respectfully. Isn’t that something we all need to know about our partner before we marry?
