Prenuptial Marriage Agreements

Prenuptial agreements can protect both spouses.

Prenuptial agreements, sometimes referred to as prenup or premarital agreements, can be used whenever a couple decides to get married. These legal contracts exist between the married parties and can include a wide range of terms on numerous issues. All states allow couples to use premarital or prenuptial agreements, though some restrictions do apply.

Basics

All states require premarital or prenuptial agreements to be made in writing and agreed to by both parties. The prenuptial agreements can contain as few or as many conditions and agreements as the parties desire, so long as the conditions do not violate state law or public policy. Couples can agree to change or modify prenuptial agreements at will, or revoke such agreements after entering into them.

Areas

Prenuptial agreements typically cover such areas as income, property and marital support payments to be made both during the course of the marriage and in the event the marriage ends in divorce. These documents are used to detail financial rights and obligations, protect each party from the other's debts and make arrangements for property distribution in the event of a divorce.

Prohibitions

In general, prenuptial agreements cannot contain any terms or conditions that unreasonably encourage marital separation or divorce. Some states also restrict prenuptial agreements from divesting one party or another from the right to seek marital support. This means that even if the prenup states a spouse is not entitled to alimony, a spouse can still sue the other for alimony payments and the courts will not be bound by the prenuptial agreement's terms.

Children

While prenuptial agreements can cover a wide range of issues, one of the most important area they cannot cover involves issues about child custody and support. Courts have jurisdiction over all matters concerning child welfare, and prenuptial agreements cannot bind a court into a specific ruling on custody or support issues. A court can ignore, modify or adopt any such terms made in a prenuptial agreement at will.

Form

Prenuptial agreements can be in any form as long as they meet state requirements. In general, these agreements must be written down, must explicitly state the terms of the agreement, be signed by both parties and be notarized. Once a divorce or separation takes place, valid prenuptial agreements can be used by a court in determining issues arising from the divorce or separation.

References

• Nolo: Prenuptial Agreements
• Bankrate: Everything you need to know about prenuptial agreements