If you’re in a committed relationship and you’re ready to move to the stage of marriage, there is one last conversation you need to have, and that’s about a prenup. A prenup is a private agreement established between the two parties getting married that states if the marriage ends, one party isn’t entitled to the other party’s assets. This document is signed and made legitimate by a legal team. If you aren’t sure that you need one, keep reading to see why you do.
Protect Your Assets
While you love the person you are marrying, you may have come to this relationship with assets you gained. These assets will include property that you owned before the marriage, even down to collections that you may have had for years. The prenup keeps the spouse from accessing these assets later on. For some, that is a home that you purchased on your own or inherited from your own family before the marriage. According to Today’s Homeowner, the average age of a home in the U.S. is 39 years old.
Don’t Inherit Debt
While you may be great with money and have minimal debt, when you marry someone without a prenup, you also marry their debt, which becomes your financial responsibility. If you have a prenup drawn up, you aren’t legally responsible for that debt, and collectors aren’t able to come for your assets to freeze as a way to get their money. The debt you accumulate after marriage will be listed differently and held to different responsibility standards.
Future Inheritance Protection
If you have children outside of this marriage, then the assets and wealth that you’ve accumulated should go to them. You want to get a prenup drawn up to protect these children and their inheritance of your estate. In the prenup, the inheritances that you plan to leave to your children will be listed as separate property from the marriage and will come from those assets attained before that time. Also, inheritances you stand to gain from your family can be protected as separate property, even if you haven’t inherited them yet.
Protect the Stay-At-Home Parent
Some protections are available for the non-working spouse with a prenup. This can be drawn up to leave them the house in the event of a divorce and a lump sum payment that will protect them if the marriage ends for any reason. Some partners have this clause drawn up so that they, too, can remain protected. Often, this is put in place if the wealthier partner insists that the other partner stay home, especially if they had a career before the marriage and are putting their plans on hold. With every 2.3 people out of every 1,000 inhabitants in Kansas getting divorced, alimony may or may not be a part of your divorce settlement and can be listed in the prenup ahead of time.
Protect The Pets
In many marriages, pets are aligned with a partner before the marriage, but when the marriage is over, there seems to be a disagreement over who gets the pet. In these cases, you can have it listed in the prenup that certain pets belong with certain partners. This will avoid any issues at the time of mediation, and pets that came into the marriage with one partner can always stay with that partner.
If you’re thinking about getting married shortly, you should consider getting a prenup to protect yourself and your future spouse, also. There are lots of benefits that you can find about prenups, and also some misinformation that you can find online. According to High Rock Studios, the most engaged audiences spend 76 times more on advertised products and services online, which is where you can find a lawyer to assist you with this process. This will ensure your prenup meets your goals and you can have peace of mind before getting married.
