Entering into a prenuptial agreement (prenup) before marriage may not be the most romantic endeavor. It can, however, help protect your financial future. Contrary to popular belief, prenuptial agreements do not set the stage for divorce. They could afford the peace of mind you need to focus on forging a happy, healthy, and long-lasting marriage.
Call our marital contracts attorney today to discuss your prenup needs with an experienced Colonial Heights prenuptial agreements lawyer at Capital Family & Divorce Law Group.
Officially called premarital agreements, when prenups are created by an attorney in accordance with state law in Colonial Heights, they are legally binding. The legal requirements that apply include each of the following:
These contracts are designed to address two major issues – protecting your premarital assets, as well as deciding in advance how the parties will divide property acquired during the marriage if there is a separation or divorce. While prenuptial agreements are set up before marriage, they do not take effect until the marriage takes place.
There is no legal requirement regarding how much time must elapse between signing a prenup and the marriage. The more time allowed, however, the less chance there is that either spouse can claim coercion.
A prenuptial agreement lawyer in Colonial Heights may draw up a document covering financial matters, including inheritance. This means that divorce terms such as the division of marital property and spousal maintenance can be negotiated ahead of time. This can save considerable emotional energy in the event of divorce.
This is an equitable distribution state, meaning that, when a couple divorces, the assets they acquired during their marriage must be divided between them fairly. Equitability here has to do with what is fair under the unique circumstances that apply.
Separate assets refer to those assets that either spouse owned before marriage and kept separate during the marriage. However, the longer the marriage lasts, the more difficult it may become for a party to prove that certain property was premarital.
When a couple has a binding prenuptial agreement in place, it minimizes ambiguity about who owns what. When a couple clearly defines separate ownership before their marriage, there is far less risk of losing their stake in their personal asset.
Spousal support is not an automatic entitlement. Instead, the court takes into account the specific circumstances of the divorcing couple. Examples include:
When one spouse enters a marriage with considerably more wealth than the other, there is no guarantee that the spouse with less will receive financial support upon divorce. A prenuptial agreement, however, could provide enhanced financial support that serves each spouse’s best interests.
It is especially important to consider inheritance in a prenuptial agreement if the spouses have children from previous relationships. A prenup can provide parents with confidence that their children will inherit according to their parents’ wishes if they die before their spouse.
A seasoned Colonial Heights prenuptial agreements lawyer at Capital Family & Divorce Law Group understands the importance of a prenup in your marriage plans. You can count on the dedicated team to help you protect your financial rights. Learn more about what Capital Family & Divorce Law Group could do to help by contacting or calling them today.
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