Prenuptial agreements can go a long way toward making divorce less messy – if it comes to that – and potentially keeping the couple happily married. There is comfort in knowing the best and worst possible outcomes of your future together.
According to a survey done by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), as reported by broadcast channel CNBC, requests by millennials for prenuptial pacts are on the upswing since they are marrying later in life and have more assets to safeguard.
If you’re considering a marital agreement to protect assets, and you’re in St. Petersburg or Pinellas County, Florida – or anywhere in the state – contact me at BKG Mediation, LLC.
As a Certified Public Accountant and Florida Bar Board Certified Tax Attorney, in addition to my work as a court-appointed mediator in Pinellas County, I can help you create prenuptial or postnuptial agreements that are legally precise and take into account everyone’s needs and concerns.
Basically, a prenuptial agreement is a financial document. If you’re considering marriage, you may weigh the advantages of a prenuptial pact. Agreeing in advance on the distribution of assets can go a long way toward preventing a messy, contentious divorce, and it can even help settle the division of assets should one spouse die prematurely.
A prenuptial agreement is considered a contract, and in any contract, there must be what is called consideration. The consideration represents something that each party – the two spouses individually – will give up or receive as a result of the agreement.
Prenuptial agreements, or prenups as they are popularly called, are valid in all 50 states upon marriage.
Most people hearing the word “prenup” imagine one wealthy person marrying a less financially rewarded person.While this can be the case, a prenup can actually make for smoother sailing for most couples while married, in the sense that each partner knows exactly where he or she stands should a breakup or divorce loom.
Another popular view of a prenup is that it will cheat the less wealthy partner, but this is not always the case. If the prenup is negotiated with an experienced family law attorney, both sides will end up with the proper consideration. The agreement doesn’t have to be – and shouldn’t be – one-sided.
In truth, any type of marital agreement, whether before or during the marriage, affords both spouses an opportunity to have an open and honest discourse about what’s important to both of them. That itself can be a great benefit to their future relationship.
