Legal Topic: Prenuptial agreements

We are now entering the month of February, isn’t this the month of love? You would think so, but in reality, it is the month with the most divorce filings.  According to Robert Komaiko’s article this is the month where many couples rethink if marriage was right for them.  As stores and the media push the market of love, it puts things into focus for others and they want out instead of faking their relationship on February 14.  From reading this article, prenuptial agreements come into mind.  Although once considered a bad omen, premarital agreements are now very popular and if they are done correctly provide a great amount of protection.   Many couples are now looking into these types of agreement to insure their property is safeguarded incase something goes wrong in their marriage.   

With a prenuptial agreement you can agree to keep your finances as separate property, you can limit your liability to the other person’s debts, you can provide protection for children of another relationship, you can agree to keep property within your birth family, you can even agree to waive rights to an inheritance and even agree on how to manage the household during the marriage.  

So how do you make sure your prenup is done correctly?  Well, they need to be crafted in such a way as to avoid being challenged as provided by California Family Code 1615.  In summary, both parties must sign these premarital agreement voluntarily and have expressly acknowledged and waived an interest they may have to a certain property.  They must be given the opportunity to seek independent legal counsel to review each of the terms and at the time of signing they must be mentally competent to understand what they are agreeing to.  It is also important to point out, that premarital agreements may not provide coverage for property not yet acquired or not specified in the agreement, thus, the reason why these agreements should be drafted by an attorney with the proper knowledge and skill to do them.  

Now, not everyone needs a prenuptial agreement.  Typically if you have real estate, business or earn a high income, you might want to consider speaking with an attorney to see if a prenup is what you really need.  In fact, if this is something you consider, I would suggest each person consult their own individual attorney to make sure they get a fair and balance assessment of their own particular needs.  

.........Oh, and in case you’re curious, June and September are the months with the highest levels of I-do’s.