Over the years, the prenuptial agreement has been given negative connotations. This makes it a dreaded topic among intending couples. Unfortunately, the negativity that has shrouded prenup has prevented many couples from discussing the significant legal benefits associated with premarital agreements.
The fact is that this contract may be highly beneficial to couples because it addresses important issues that come up in a marriage. This includes financial planning, property division during a divorce, and inter-faith disputes. If you are considering a prenup agreement, you may want to choose a prenuptial agreement template, which makes it easier to customize your agreement.
What Is A Prenuptial Agreement?
Also known as a prenup, a prenuptial agreement is a written legal contract that is created by two people intending to get married. This legal document is usually prepared before the two people get married. The prenuptial agreement generally lists the property and assets as well as the debts of each partner.
It also details the property rights of each partner after the marriage. Some states refer to a prenup as an ante-nuptial agreement. In contemporary terms, it is referred to as simply premarital agreement. It is important to mention that a prenup is different from a post-nuptial agreement. The latter is an agreement that a couple makes during the marriage and not before.
As stated, a prenuptial agreement given by CocoDoc is a legal document and it covers some legal jargon that you may not understand. If your partner is the one drafting the agreement with their lawyer, you may want to get your lawyer to also have a look.
This is to ensure that your interest is well protected in the contract. Additionally, you may choose to use a prenup agreement template and customize it to suit your needs.
Dos and Don'ts Checklist for a Prenuptial Agreement
Although a prenuptial agreement has a lot of benefits, it is important to understand the dos and don’ts checklist to avoid any issues in the future. The prenup should contain the right legal terminology to make the document enforceable. It should also be executed properly to make it a legally binding contract.
In this section, we will look at the dos and don’ts checklist for a prenuptial agreement. If you do not want to go through the process of drafting the contract from the scratch, you can choose a prenuptial agreement sample. With this, you can edit and customize the document for your use.
However, if you want to draft the agreement from the scratch, here are the dos and don’ts of the document:
- Understand your specific marital rights and the possible benefits of a prenuptial agreement.
- Consider addressing pertinent albeit uncomfortable issues during the prenup agreement to avoid contentious disputes in the future.
For the don’ts, here are the checklists of things you should not include or discuss in your prenuptial agreement template word.
- Do not include child custody, child support, or visitation rights in a prenup.
- Do not execute a prenuptial agreement without an independent attorney.
Tips for Writing a Work for Prenuptial Agreement
A prenuptial agreement is more common than many people assume it is, especially since divorce and remarriage are becoming more prevalent. Today, all states allow prenup. However, you must understand that a lot of scrutiny are done on the contract to ensure that it is fair for both parties.
Any prenup that fails to meet the requirements of the state is considered invalid. Therefore, when drafting such an agreement, you should consider all factors and the requirements of the state. You may want to explore prenuptial agreements templates to understand how the contract is drafted.
You can also edit a suitable template and customize it to suit your specific purpose. To ensure that you draft an enforceable prenuptial agreement, here are some tips to follow:
- Negotiate and draft the prenup agreement in a clear, legally sound, and understandable way.
- Get both your lawyers to review the agreement and advise you on it.
- To minimize cost, use a prenup agreements template before you share it with your lawyers.
- Ensure that the prenuptial agreements template that you use covers all bases and is fair to both parties.
Important Notes about Prenuptial Agreement
A prenuptial agreement may seem unnecessary at the beginning of your relationship. However, sometimes down the lane, you may discover that you have made a serious error by not having a prenup before your marriage.
With a prenuptial agreement, you will leave the decision on the rightful owner of the property you acquire during your marriage to the law of the state in the event of a divorce or death. In some cases, the state law may decide what happens to the property you acquired before marriage.
This is because marriage is considered a contract between spouses under the law. This contract automatically assigns property rights to each spouse, irrespective of who acquires the property.
However, when you use a prenuptial agreement example to complete your prenup, you can establish the ownership of properties and assets and how the same would be divided in the event of a divorce or death. With this, both spouses are protected against an unfair division of property that they have personally acquired.
Conclusion
A prenup is a contract between two people intending to get married. It is a legal document that is enforceable before the law when it is properly executed. There are prenup templates that you can use to customize your contract and you can find these at reputable online platforms.
Irrespective of the source of your prenuptial agreements example, it is important that you share the contract with your lawyers for their professional input. This is to prevent any litigation that may arise in the future due to some loopholes that are discovered in the contract. Besides, you can click here for more agreement templates at CocoDoc.
