Prenuptial agreements are the wise choice for modern spouses who understand that sometimes “until death do us part” actually means “until the death of our love do we part.” In this sense, premarital agreements allow couples to set the parameters for their breakups, so that they can divorce as peacefully, quickly and cost-effectively as possible — if a divorce is necessary.
In this sense, they’re kind of like an emergency action plan that goes into effect in the unfortunate event that your marriage breaks down.
Here’s what prenuptial agreements can include
Although prenuptials are not miracle documents that allow you to walk away from your marriage as if nothing ever happened, these legal arrangements can make the dissolution of your marriage easier. Here’s what prenups can include:
- Make a record of your current property that belongs to you to deem these assets as separate property throughout your marriage and divorce.
- Protect yourself from your spouse’s debts. If you and your spouse are entering into the marriage with significant debts, a prenuptial agreement can protect the marital property from being targeted by debt collectors.
- Create arrangements for your children from a previous spouse to protect their inheritance rights.
- A prenuptial agreement can be set up to safeguard the estate plan that you have already created.
- Create a plan for distributing property after your marriage. A prenuptial agreement might be a way to bypass certain marital property laws that go into effect after your divorce.
- Clarify the roles and responsibilities you will assume during your marriage.
Learn more about what you can and cannot do with a prenup
It’s important that spouses stay realistic with their prenuptial agreements. A court could rule that a prenuptial agreement that goes too far is invalid, and Tennessee couples have fought numerous divorce battles in court over allegedly unviable prenuptial agreements.
Staying conservative and reasonable with your prenuptial agreement, and understanding prenuptial agreement law will be key to ensuring that your agreement is lawful, treats both parties fairly and will hold up in court.
