For many people, especially older couples and those who have significant assets prior to marriage, a pre-nuptial agreement (or pre-nup) will be incredibly helpful, not only if a marriage ends in divorce, but also upon the death of a person desiring to leave substantial assets to their children whom they had prior to the new marriage. A pre-nup can make clear which spouse owns which property, and how property acquired after the marriage should be treated.
Divorce
When divorce occurs to a couple that have significant assets, without a pre-nup both spouses can become entangled in costly litigation. A pre-nup can avoid most (and perhaps all) of such problems, so long as it is carefully drafted.
Death
Many marriages today are between couples where one or both spouses may have had children from a previous marriage. A spouse that has significant assets may wish to leave such assets to their children, rather than to their new spouse. Without a pre-nup, however, the assets that each spouse brings to a marriage may become jointly owned after the marriage. If the spouse with significant assets dies, such spouse’s assets may need to be divided between the children of the deceased spouse and the surviving spouse.
If you are in need of an experienced pre-nup lawyer, I would invite you to call me or fill out the contact form below to get started.
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