Becoming engaged to the love of your life is a big step in your relationship. It is also the start of wedding planning. While you might be focused on choosing a venue, colors and other aspects of the wedding, don’t forget that now is the best time to protect your future. You can do this by entering into a prenuptial agreement with your future spouse.
Some people don’t like the sound a prenup. They think it means that they plan for the marriage to fail. This isn’t at all the attitude you should have about it. Instead, the agreement gives you and your betrothed a chance to ensure you are on the same with the financial matters of the union.
The prenuptial agreement outlines what will happen to currently held assets and debts if the marriage ends. The terms of it must be fair to both parties. If you have children from a previous relationship, this can protect them too. It can also ensure that you get to hang on to family heirlooms and other assets that are passed down to you when a loved one passes away.
If you are going to have a premarital agreement, make sure that the matter is discussed early in the engagement. If you wait until too close to the wedding, the court might say that it was signed under duress because both parties didn’t have a chance to consider the terms.
If you don’t have a prenup and are currently married, you might be able to use a postnuptial agreement to enjoy some of the same protections. Before entering into either of these agreements, you need to look at how they apply to your case. This might help you decide what to include in them. Just remember that your significant other needs to have time to review the terms and that the terms must not favor one person over the other.
