People sometimes talk about getting cold feet the day before the wedding. They’ve been building up to the ceremony for months or even years, but then they get nervous on the verge of committing to spend their life with someone. In some cases, they even back out of the wedding.
If you feel this way, should you consider getting a prenuptial agreement? Is your nervousness just that you don’t want to enter into this marriage without a contract that protects your rights and your financial assets?
The problems with a last-minute prenup
If you are nervous about your financial assets, a prenuptial agreement is one way to address this. You can use it to define which assets are yours and ensure that you keep everything you want in the event that your spouse gets a divorce. If you stay together, it makes no difference at all, but it can make a huge difference if the marriage ends.
However, if it really is the day before the wedding, it’s likely too late unless you postpone the wedding. A prenup that is signed at the last minute may not be valid, either based on the fact that this can put your prospective spouse under duress or because they may simply not have any time to read and consider the prenup prior to signing it. Even if they sign, in the event of a divorce, that prenup may get thrown out of court.
As you can see, prenups and divorce can get very complicated, especially when there are a lot of assets on the line. Always be sure you know exactly what steps you’ll need to take.
