5 Reasons to Sign a Prenuptial Agreement
Posted on December 18, 2019 in Divorce
It might seem like a cynical thing to contemplate prior to your wedding, but before getting married, you should consider drafting and signing a prenuptial agreement. Prenuptial agreements, or “prenups,” are less of a way to imply doom and gloom for your future marriage and more of a smart method to prepare yourself for the worst-case scenario: divorce. Prenuptial agreements enable you to decide on many of the terms of your divorce at the start of your marriage—this includes division of property and division of debt; allocation of investments and retirement funds; and determination of alimony/spousal support.
Why Should You Sign a Prenup?
At one time, prenups were more common among wealthier people who had more assets with which to negotiate. These days, however, they are becoming more common for a wide variety of people, including millennials who are trying to protect themselves from the possibility of divorce in the future. Since divorce is so much more common now than it was in years past, it makes sense to safeguard against it with a prenuptial agreement.
There are myriad reasons to sign a prenuptial agreement, and many of those will ultimately depend on your particular situation. In general, some convincing reasons to use a prenuptial agreement are:
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Protecting Your Finances in the Future—If you have a lot more valuable property and assets than your future spouse, a prenup is a great way to protect what you have. In contrast, if you have much less than your partner, a prenup is a useful contract to make sure that, no matter what happens during the marriage and a potential divorce, you will still have what you need to support yourself in the future.
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Keeping Things Straight—If you have been married for years, by the time you get a divorce, all of your assets and other finances might have been so commingled that you both have forgotten what belongs to whom. An easy way to keep things straight is to sign a prenup so you both know from the start who owns what.
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No Surprises—By essentially setting the terms of your divorce in advance, you can avoid being surprised if your relationship does break down in the future. In many cases, spouses are unfamiliar with divorce laws, but a prenup can help you better understand the intricacies of the divorce process if necessary.
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Fairly Managing Complex Investments—From your retirement and other investment accounts to a family-owned business, it is important to make sure that you will retain ownership of the assets that are important to you in the case of divorce.
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Ensuring a Good Life for Your Children (Current and Future)—Especially in the cases of second or subsequent marriages, a prenuptial agreement is a helpful way to ensure that your children will be able to receive the assets they are entitled to.
Contact a DuPage County Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer
It is always a good idea to plan for the future. Better yet, it is a great idea to prepare for the worst. This philosophy applies to marriage and divorce as well. If you and your future spouse are concerned about how a possible divorce would be handled, and you want to protect what is yours, then a prenuptial agreement is a smart move. Get in touch with a Wheaton prenup attorney who knows all the latest developments in divorce law, including any new rules regarding prenups. Call the knowledgeable team at Andrew Cores Family Law Group at 630-871-1002 for a free consultation.
Sources:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2087&ChapterID=59
https://www.businessinsider.com/reasons-to-sign-a-prenup-before-marriage-2018-10
https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/smart-money/why-engaged-couples-should-sign-a-prenup/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherelliott/2018/07/19/read-this-before-you-sign-a-prenuptial-agreement/#38858bc1587c
