While many couples in California choose to have a prenuptial agreement drawn up, each agreement is unique to the couple involved. The idea of these agreements, however, is largely the same. Prenups are agreements designed to protect each spouse’s future in the event of a divorce. In many cases, the terms of a prenup involve guidelines for financial settlements and payments, but more and more there are specific clauses added to a prenuptial agreement that make it as unique as the couple completing it.
For example, some couples want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and decide to add those terms to a prenuptial agreement. For example, one man included a weight-limit clause in his prenup, and identified a maximum acceptable weight for both himself and his wife. Another couple explicitly stated in their prenup that they would maintain a smoke-free home.
There are more traditional roles and goals of a marriage that some couples don’t want to lose sight of. Maintaining active levels of intimate relations is essential for many married couples, so some are including frequency guidelines in a prenup. Other traditional couples are a little stricter, including the number of times a wife will prepare a home-cooked meal for her husband every week.
Some couples choose to add clauses to a prenuptial agreement that target social and behavioral habits that are important to them. While they may not make sense to other couples, some spouses find it necessary to put it down in writing that a spouse should be kind and respectful to in-laws. Or a wife may choose to limit the number of hours her husband can watch sports.
While seemingly strange, these dumands may be very important issues for the couple involved. In a more serious example, Nicole Kidman reportedly included a drug-use clause in her prenuptial agreement with husband Keith Urban. There is a spousal support payment plan in place, but if Urban, a former cocaine addict, relapses, he will not receive any money from Kidman.
Determining what may or may not be appropriate and important to note in a prenuptial agreement can be difficult, but many couples find these agreements useful and necessary to have in place. Working with an attorney to have a prenup drawn up can help couples prepare for and protect their futures.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Prenuptial Agreements That Included Strange Demands,” Sept. 27, 2012
