09/17/2023
A Prenuptial Agreement (also referred to as a marriage contract) can be an effective way to protect yourself and your partner when entering a marriage. Here are some simple Dos ✅ and Don'ts 🚫 for prenuptial agreements:
✅Retain a Family Law Lawyer. Before you decide whether a prenup is right for you, it’s important to understand the basic concepts of Family Law as they would apply to your situation. When entering into any kind of domestic contract, it’s important to do so with the help of a qualified family law lawyer who can advise you with respect to your rights and obligations under that agreement and ensure that you are protected.
✅Think about the future. When entering into a prenuptial agreement it’s important to do so not just from the perspective of where you are today, but where you think you may end up, and where you want to end up in the future. Now is not the time to be short sighted.
✅Be Open and Honest. In order to be enforceable, your domestic contract has to come with full financial disclosure. Lying to your spouse about your finances is not only a bad idea from a relationship perspective, it can also jeopardize the validity of your prenuptial agreement.
🚫Don't Procrastinate. If you wait until too close to the wedding date to start talking to your spouse about a prenup, you may be putting the contract itself at risk. There is an argument that can be made on the basis of duress if the prenup is not finalized well in advance of the wedding.
🚫Don't Sign Without ILA. In order for a prenup to be enforceable, both parties need to have independent legal advice from their own counsel. This means that you cannot share the same lawyer, and you should not discourage your spouse from seeking legal advice in hopes of “getting a better deal”.
🚫Don't Deal with Child-Related Issues. Prenuptial agreements cannot deal with child related issues such as child support or custody/access of children. If you include such terms in your agreement they will be unenforceable.
Are you thinking about a prenup? if so, call us📞📲 or visit us online 💻🖥 to book a free 30 minute consultation to discuss your situation with one of our qualified family law lawyers.
