If you are planning on getting married soon, you likely have many items on your to-do list, deadlines to meet and decisions to make. It may be upsetting if discussions of a prenuptial agreement are floating around your wedding preparations. Perhaps you are wondering if this is something you should consider, or maybe you believe a prenup will doom your marriage.
A prenuptial agreement is a legal document in which couples decide before they marry how they will deal with some of the difficult issues that may arise if their marriage should end in divorce. This may sound like a definite romance killer, but before you dismiss the idea, you may wish to learn more about it.
How can I benefit from a prenuptial agreement?
Hollywood royalty and billion-dollar corporation heiresses are not the only ones who can benefit from a well-drafted prenuptial agreement. In fact, as the family dynamic evolves and divorce rates remain high, more people are benefitting from the safeguard of a prenuptial agreement. Nevertheless, if one or both of you come from wealthy families, you may be feeling some pressure to sign a pre-marital contract since a divorce may place the entire family’s interests at risk. Other good reasons for a prenup include the following:
- You can protect the inheritance of children you may have from a previous relationship.
- You can provide financial security for your spouse if you should die first.
- You are bringing your own wealth or other assets to the marriage and want to exclude them from property division.
- You already have or plan to start a business, and you want to insulate it from the devastation a divorce can do.
- A partner with significant debt does not want the other partner to end up liable for those debts in a divorce.
Divorce can be ugly, and once-devoted partners sometimes behave badly because of the painful emotions they are experiencing. Because of this, settling difficult questions now may be a wise and generous part of planning for your life together. A prenup does not have to be something you create to prevent your future spouse from taking all your assets in a divorce. Instead, it can be a loving way for you and your partner to protect one another from future turmoil at a time when you are seeking the very best for each other.
