Can a prenuptial agreement help me?

For many years, prenuptial agreements have endured a fairly negative reputation at the hands of public opinion. Many people view them as a planned back door to marriage or the kind of thing that only wealthy people do. Fortunately, the tide of public opinion is beginning to shift for the prenup, as many younger couples choose to use one, recognizing the many ways that such an agreement can actually a marriage.

Prenuptial agreements are not merely the same as pre-ordering your divorce. Instead, a well-made agreement can help define the terms of a marriage and remove many areas of stress. One of the most common ways that couples might use a prenuptial agreement is to protect one spouse from the other’s personal debt. When two people marry, the law sees this as a legally binding business relationship. Without proper protection, a divorce could mean that one party must take on a portion of debt from the other party.

Another great way to use a prenuptial agreement is protecting one spouse’s assets from people outside of the marriage. This can be exceptionally useful when one member of the marriage has a much larger estate than the other. While you may trust your spouse that he or she is not marrying you for the money, you can’t be so sure about the extended family. When there is are significant assets involved, people have a tendency to get a little crazy.

The bottom line is that a prenuptial agreement does not have to mean an eventual divorce. In fact, if your spouse-to-be has anxiety over his debt or may be her family has a great deal of money, a well-crafted prenuptial agreement can be a very gracious, loving gift. An experienced attorney can help you craft an excellent document, ensuring that both you and your fiance remain protected.

Source: FindLaw, “How to Determine if a Prenuptial Agreement is Right for You,” accessed April 05, 2017