You Should Know These Things About Prenuptial Agreements

A legal contract that is agreed upon by two people prior to getting married is termed as a prenuptial agreement. In this agreement, the couple takes care of matters like the kind of property rights they will have in the event of their divorce, any property that they acquire during their marriage and the property, which each of them brings into their marriage.

There was a time when the prenuptial agreements were only for wealthy people. Today, things have changed. In case, both the spouses want to own a property jointly, one of them had given up his or her job to bring up the kids or have their own separate earnings, a prenuptial agreement is needed.

Couples can mention the kind of financial responsibilities each will have to fear on the event of their divorce. The agreement can also have in writing what are their e let actions from each other in the marriage and what should happen if their expectations are not fulfilled.

Here is a checklist of the things that should be covered in any prenuptial agreement. This list can help you to take a decision on whether you and your spouse should have such a contract or not.

Assets should be kept separated

The divorce laws of any state define and regulate what is a marital asset and what is not. The real issue is that you need to prove in the court, which were the assets acquired by you before the marriage and after the marriage collapsed. If you had created a prenuptial agreement, you will not need to prove the ownership of assets that were brought by you in the marriage. You just need to provide a list of such assets.

Inherited property

In case you have inherited any property, your spouse and you can agree in your prenuptial agreement that such property will belong to you in the event of a divorce.

Splitting debt

A prenuptial agreement can reduce your ownership when your spouse incurs debts during your marriage and while you get divorced. When you and your spouse agree on the way debts will be handled and the person who will be accountable for the debt in the prenuptial agreement, you can save your money and time when the breakup of your marriage tantamount to extensive litigation.

Divorce settlement negotiations

The most crucial point that a prenuptial agreement can constitute is who will receive what if there is a divorce. If you do not have such an agreement, the divorce laws if the state where you reside and the settlement negotiated by you will ascertain how your marital assets will be divided.

Getting divorced in California can be complicated.  Download our free eBook, 18 Important Things to Know About California Divorce to educate yourself on the process.  

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.