Many people have heard of pre-nuptial agreements, which are legal documents that allow spouses to protect and secure their finances and assets before marriage. A post-nuptial agreement is a similar concept, except that it is created after marriage.
When planning to get married, you may have certain ideas and requirements for how you would want your finances, debts, and assets divided between you and your spouse in the event of a divorce. However, as time goes on during a marriage, you may develop new ideas or requirements for dividing your assets that differ from what you wanted before. That is when you will need to seek out a post-nuptial agreement.
Below are the top 4 reasons to use a post-nuptial agreement to secure your financial future after getting married.
1) Income Changes
If you or your spouse’s income increases or decreases throughout your marriage, you may find it to be a good reason to seek a post-nuptial agreement. That way, you can appropriately adjust the asset distribution to account for the income changes.
The new agreement could have provisions outlining the division of savings accounts and investments or the requirements for payments of alimony and child support between spouses. Since income changes can have a significant impact on these areas, a post-nuptial agreement will ensure that both spouses make the appropriate financial preparations before a possible divorce.
2) Child Support and Custody
Married couples getting divorced usually have their biggest disagreements when it comes to their children. Each spouse typically tries to fight for custody while making the other spouse pay child support.
A post-nuptial agreement can outline all these arrangements before any battle over them takes place. While still on good terms, you and your spouse can decide on how much child custody each side gets and how much money each side pays in child support.
3) Debt Allocation
Another reason to seek a post-nuptial agreement is to allocate your existing debts, especially if you or your spouse have accumulated more debts since getting married.
For instance, if one of you has credit card balances, car loans, student loans, or a shared mortgage loan, you and your spouse need to figure out who will be responsible for these debts if the marriage ends.
A post-nuptial agreement can manage this issue by outlining the debt responsibilities of each spouse after a divorce. Then, no one will have to worry about one spouse forcing too many debts onto another spouse unfairly.
4) Prevent Potential Legal Battles
Divorces can become long, expensive legal battles without the proper agreements in place. If you never filed a pre-nuptial agreement, you still have time to prevent potential legal battles by filing a post-nuptial agreement before a divorce.
Of course, you and your spouse both must approve and sign the agreement before it is filed. That is why it is better to create a post-nuptial agreement while things are still going well in the marriage. It will ensure you get the fairest deal that is beneficial to both of you.
Request a Consultation
Are you interested in learning more about post-nuptial agreements? Contact Dadan Law Firm at 772-263-7417 to schedule an appointment for a consultation with a family law attorney today.