Everyone wants a happy and fulfilling marriage, but unfortunately, we can’t always get what we want. The current divorce rate in the US stands at 50%. This means that half of everyone that gets married ends up divorcing for one reason or the other.
You may be thinking, “my darling and I will never grow apart,” but how sure are you? Apart from the mental and emotional burden of divorce, you may also have to deal with financial repercussions. That’s why signing a prenup might not seem like such a bad idea at all.
The ill-conceived notion that a prenup is an indicator of distrust and pessimism is just that, ill-conceived. Signing a prenuptial agreement protects your assets and possessions and also sidesteps lengthy and expensive court battles.
Join us today as we highlight a few benefits of signing a prenup, but before that, what exactly is a prenup?
What Is a Prenup?
A prenup or a prenuptial agreement is a legally binding agreement between a couple before they get married. A prenup stipulates how debt and assets will be shared between the couple in the event of a divorce. It lists what each party owns and specifies each party’s rights to the marital property after the marriage.
In some regions, a prenup may be known as an antenuptial or premarital agreement. Some states replace the word “agreement” with “contract.” Regardless of the name, all these terms denote an agreement between a couple detailing property and asset ownership before and after the marriage.
What Are the Pros of Signing a Prenup?
Signing a prenup isn’t something most couples look forward to. However, if you want to protect your most prized possession, then it something you should probably do. Here are a few benefits of signing a prenuptial agreement.
Cultivates Honesty Before the Marriage
The hallmark of any successful marriage is honesty. That said, no marriage can be deemed honest without a candid conversation about assets and finances. Signing a prenup paves the way for open discussions about finances, assets, and liabilities.
A conversation about finances between couples takes no more than an hour. Although brief, this conversation enables each one to understand the expectations of the other. It also engenders a sense of togetherness and cultivates deeper levels of trust and honesty.
Signing a prenuptial agreement is one way to get your marriage off on the right foot and ensuring financial security during and even after your marriage. This will help sustain your marriage for years to come. Should you fall out with your spouse, the prenup helps you fast-track the divorce proceedings.
Details Marital Properties
You’ve probably heard that two become one when they get married. This phrase transcends the emotional to touch on assets and finances. Once you get married, the state or country defines both of your properties as marital property.
This makes perfect sense, but what happens when the two of you divorce? Well, it’s simple, the court will decide who gets what. The court’s decision could result in a prolonged property battle that could last for months and sometimes years.
Some sections of prenuptial agreements detail how you will divide the property should you divorce. That way, you get to decide how you will share marital property after the divorce. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why most couples sign prenups.
Whether you opt for equal or non-equal sharing, the court must respect your decision under marriage law.
Makes the Divorce More Straightforward
Most couples are usually on the same page about the actual divorce. However, as the divorce progresses, couples start disagreeing on crucial matters.
One of these crucial matters is how they will divide property after the divorce. This is what prolongs most divorces and exacerbates the animosity between divorced couples.
Sometimes, even when you’re in perfect agreement with your spouse, the law scuttles your peace pact. That means lengthy court proceedings, which could cost you hundreds of thousands in legal fees. How’s that for adding insult to injury?
To sidestep such unpleasant situations, you should consider signing a prenup. That way, you can streamline all legal processes and save a bundle in legal fees.
Guarantees Fair Sharing of Assets
It’s very hard to find a married couple with equal assets. For instance, if you accumulate a ton of wealth and marry a not-so-wealthy person. There’s a high chance that you’ll lose a large chunk of your wealth when you divorce.
To ensure your financial security and protect your wealth, you should consider putting pen to paper and signing a prenup. This is a prudent move, especially if you’re retired or retiring soon. That’s because if you lose most of your wealth, you’ll have no other source of income for sustenance.
When signing the prenup, all you have to do is stipulate all your wealth and everything you’ll take after the divorce. You can rest easy knowing your joint assets will be distributed fairly after the divorce.
Shield You From Debt
Most people are unaware that getting married also means sharing your partner’s debt. You may not share all your partner’s debt, but you might end up sharing a large portion of it. If you sign a prenup, you can protect yourself from sharing your partner’s debt should you divorce.
A good example is if you are debt-free and your partner has a few unpaid loans. If you divorce without a prenup, the court might rule that you share half of your partner’s debt. This can be very frustrating because you have to bear the brunt of your ex-spouse’s financial irresponsibility.
If you want to live a fruitful and debt-free life after your divorce, you should prioritize signing a prenup before the big day. It’s a decision you’ll live to thank yourself for.
Protects Your Kids and Businesses
Most people work tirelessly to establish and run a successful business that they end up losing after a divorce. If you own a business, you can list it as a separate asset when you sign the prenup. That way, when you go your separate ways with your spouse, you can take your business with you.
Kids are the ones hardest hit by divorces, but divorcing your spouse doesn’t mean divorcing your kids. Your kids are still your kids even after the divorce, and you have to take good care of them. You need to ensure that your kids don’t lose their rights over your property once you divorce.
You can designate some of your property to your kids when you sign a prenup. That way, you can secure your kid’s financial security even after your divorce.
When to Sign a Prenup?
It seems pretty obvious, you should sign a prenup before marriage, but that’s an overly vague answer. “Before marriage” could mean months before the wedding or a few hours to the wedding.
When it comes to signing prenuptial agreements, the earlier you do so, the better. In fact, there are legal repercussions for signing a prenup too close to your wedding. This begs the question, when is the right time to sign a prenup?
As a rule of thumb, consider signing your prenup around three months to the wedding. If you’re too late, try to sign it around one month before the wedding. That way, the prenup can go through all legal validation processes, plus it gives both parties enough time to make changes to the prenup if necessary.
That said, it may not be such a good idea to sign the prenup too early before the wedding. You don’t want a scenario where one of you forgot what was in the prenup. There’s also a chance that you could forget to include one or two assets in your prenup.
Sign a prenup keeping your future in mind. You may want to establish a business with your spouse after the marriage. If that’s the case, you should sign a prenup that addresses any future business dealings with your spouse.
After both of you sign a prenup, hire a lawyer to ensure that the prenup captures everything and is valid. The lawyer also confirms whether the prenup reflects your premarital financial situation as it should.
It’s worth noting that signing a prenup too close to the wedding may invalidate the document even though both parties appended their signatures.
Signing a Prenup Works for the Best
If you’ve been thinking,” why should I sign a prenup?” we hope the information above gives you enough reasons to do so. Signing a prenup isn’t the most fun part about marriage, but it works for the best. Remember to hire a competent lawyer to take you through the entire process for the best results.
To read more interesting content, keep visiting our blog.
