No marriage starts with an eye on failure. With divorce rates still hovering at 50 percent, you may want to consider a prenuptial agreement before walking down the aisle.
Fewer court documents get a worse reputation than the prenuptial agreement. Many see it as a doomsday document that sets a couple up for failure. Instead of viewing a prenup in an emotional context, it helps to consider it more like a business contract. Doing this may help you craft a document that works to lower stress should your marriage end.
What can you cover in a prenuptial agreement?
The primary purpose of a prenup is to memorialize who you agree to divide finances should you divorce. One of the first things you want to do is establish separate assets and property that will remain with the original owner after divorce. This applies to tangible and intangible items, such as real estate and stocks. Most of what you accumulate during your marriage, whether in one name or both, is subject to equitable division at the time of divorce. Anything you had before and anything you agree to omit from the marital pool should go into the prenup.
What does not go into a prenup?
While you can account for future investments or business ventures in a prenup, you cannot address future children. Child-related issues, such as support, custody and visitation, do not go into a prenuptial agreement. However, if you divorce with children, removing the financial division component via a prenup may make you more apt to compromise on child-related issues.
While you may not want your marriage to end in divorce, it is possible. Giving you and your spouse the chance to remove some of the contentions of a volatile situation may lay the groundwork for a more successful partnership.
