Prenuptial Agreements
We Take Justice to Heart
Racine Divorce understands how trying a divorce can become. We want to help you make the best choices, the right choices for you and the ones you love.
Through our online and in person services, we are committed to help you obtain the outcomes you want and need in order to move forward with your life plans and goals. Ideally, we would like to help you move through a peaceful and rational divorce process. Although this doesn’t always end up being the case, we will give you our very best so you can work towards a healthy, sustainable future.
Our priorities are your priorities.
Forever And For Always?
In the beginning, most individuals believe that their marriage will last forever. And that could very well be your case! To believe in a love so strong that a bond between two people could never be broken is a powerful thing. However, as time passes and couples grow older, they can also grow apart.
A forever marriage is not guaranteed. It is a lot of work, a lot of patience, and a lot of willingness to compromise on things, even if you know you are right. Without the effort, love, and respect a marriage deserves, they tend to fall apart. And that is okay. Yes, divorce is hard. It comes with painful feelings and high legal fees. But it also ends up working out for the best for both parties. It is better to live separately and happily, than together and miserable.
Better Safe than Sorry
Therefore, it may be in a couples’ best interest to pursue a prenuptial agreement – whether you believe in an eternal marriage or not. This agreement is also known as a premarital agreement or “prenup” and it can make a messy divorce become as painless as possible. The written contract clearly outlines the personal property of each individual, prior to the marriage, and aids in dividing up assets if a couple shall ever decide to split permanently.
What Exactly is a Prenuptial Agreement?
Prenuptial agreements are legal contracts that outlines and describes existing assets, property, and value that each party owns prior to entering into a marriage. These types of agreements traditionally have a negative connotation associated to them. However, they are actually a great way to protect any two individuals who are entering into a marriage with preexisting finances or property.
A legal marriage does not mandate that each individual must give up all of their personal assets they earned previous to entering the marriage. Assets acquired or finances earned during a marriage is a different thing, considered as joint or shared property. Through the process of a prenuptial agreement, the property and financial rights that belong to each individual have already been established. A prenuptial agreement simply adds another level of security to the relationship if it were to ever fall apart.
What do Prenups Protect?
Prenuptial agreements will thoroughly outline and describe in detail exactly what each party owns prior to entering a marriage. If the marriage should end, the rightful owner will walk away with their property without the other party attempting to claim shared ownership. This could include any or all of the following:
Financial holdings
Bank accounts
Investments or stock holdings
Real estate property
Other property – cars, jewelry, heirloom antiques
Retirement accounts
Insurance
Debt
Are Prenuptial Agreements Right for Every Couple?
It is safe to assume that no couple spends time on their wedding day believing their marriage will end in divorce. Unfortunately, with about half of all marriages in the United States ending in divorce, it is one topic that must be discussed prior to the legal wedding. It is important to note that a prenuptial agreement is not the right path for all couples. But it is also important to know that they are also not just an option for the rich. Within recent years, prenuptial agreements have increased in popularity due to the protection they provide. Many people are entering marriages with prior property, assets, children, finances, and debt. All of which require specifications in order to properly protect. By selecting to add a prenuptial agreement, many couples are adding an additional level of instructions to best ensure all of their matters have been protected.
Every State and Case are Different
Every state is different and every marriage is different. Therefore, each couple will need to look at their state’s legal requirements, as well as their individual rights to see if a prenuptial agreement would be beneficial for them in the long run. Again, these agreements are not necessary for all marriages so it will vary greatly from couple to couple.
Always Seek Professional Assistance
It is very important that individuals turn to a professional for assistance in completing the final prenuptial agreement. There are several templates available on the web that can be found in order to begin drafting a prenuptial agreement. However, this is one document that will need to be created with no errors in order to ensure it is a completely legally binding contract. Therefore, individuals may have their own ideas of what they would like included and are encouraged to work on prenup drafts but professional assistance is highly recommended in order to finalize the document. The courts take prenuptial agreements very seriously. As a result, individuals will want to turn the agreement over to professionals in order to make sure the document is clear, understandable, and free of any errors. This is an area that most lawyers are familiar with and finding legal assistance should not be a challenge.
Honesty is the Best Policy
It is well within everyone’s best interest to be completely transparent when it comes to your assets and financial holdings in a prenuptial agreement. Hiding assets or anything of value from your partner when you enter a marriage is against the law. Individuals will need to ensure they have been completely honest throughout the process. It is crucial that all assets are disclosed to the legal parties in order for the prenuptial agreement to stand in any judicial court. Failure to properly disclose all assets, debts, or other personal information may result in discarding the entire agreement.
Rules to Ensure a Proper Prenuptial Agreement
It is important to have a prenuptial agreement filed by a legal team who will guarantee it is completed legally and ethically. Below is a list that highlights some of the most common reasons a prenuptial agreement may be thrown out if a judge finds inconsistencies or flaws.
No Written Agreement
Not Properly Executed
Individual was Pressured
Document was Not Read
Improper Review Time
Invalid Provisions
False Information
Incomplete Information
No Independent Counsel
Unconscionability
Protecting Individuals Through Prenuptial Agreements
These prenuptial agreements are not formulated to ruin a marriage or cause unnecessary heartache between a couple before the marriage even begins. Instead the agreements are designed to do the exact opposite; they are put in place to protect each spouse when they either enter into or exit a legal marriage. These legally binding contracts lay the foundation for what each individual brings to the marriage, and what he or she are legally entitled to in the event the marriage was to ever end. These contracts have the ability to protect personal property, family businesses, assets, inheritance, and so many other private matters. If a prenuptial agreement does not seem like an appropriate step, individuals should remember that they are always able to complete a postnuptial agreement anytime in the future. It is never too late to protect yourself.