The ins and outs of prenuptial agreements
Some married couples in Wisconsin may not have prenuptial agreements. Given that nearly half of all marriages end in divorce, however, someone who is about to enter into matrimony may wish to consider getting one. Indeed, prenuptial agreements are becoming increasingly common, especially for people who are entering second marriages and for those who are getting married later in life.
A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract signed before marriage that sets out the future spouses’ understanding regarding which assets will become part of the marital estate and how property division will be handled in the event the couple later splits. When drafting a prenuptial agreement, one should keep in mind that full disclosure of all assets and liabilities is crucial to the agreement’s future enforceability. If one party to the agreement failed to disclose all of his or her assets or debts at the time the agreement was signed, a court later may refuse to enforce the agreement on the basis of fraud.
When drafting a prenuptial agreement, the parties may consider including a sunset clause. Such a clause provides that the agreement becomes void and no longer enforceable after a certain period of time or the occurrence of an event such as the birth of a child.
It is important for each party to a prenuptial agreement to have their own lawyer to negotiate on their behalf and to represent their separate interests. If a prenuptial agreement contains lopsided provisions that unfairly advantage one party over the other, it is vulnerable to subsequent challenge. A lawyer also can help ensure that the agreement meets the court’s standards. For example, celebrity couple Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving had a prenuptial agreement that was drafted on a napkin. When they divorced in 1989, the court ruled the agreement was invalid and awarded Irving $100 million. Had Spielberg consulted with an experienced family law attorney about the agreement, he may have obtained a better result.
Source: Huffington Post, “Prenup Tips: ‘Fox And Friends’ Tackles Prenuptial Agreements“, July 18, 2013
