If you are getting married, one document you may be preparing is a prenuptial agreement. This is a document that states what will happen if you decide to get divorced down the road, which will help avoid the need to go to court and have a judge settle your disagreement. Here are some things you'll want to include in the prenuptial agreement.
Debts
Prenuptial agreements are not always used to protect your spouse from getting certain assets after a divorce. It can also be used to assign who is responsible for debts. If one person is coming into the marriage with pre-existing debt, which could be due to college loans, medical bills, or even a mortgage on the home, you can state who is responsible for paying those debts if the marriage ends. This can help avoid any confusion about how to split up the debt that was created before the marriage existed.
Property
Many disputes in a marriage come up due to how to split property. There are many things that are brought into a marriage that were owned by each person, and many assets that were acquired jointly while together. Having a plan for how to disperse property is crucial when there are certain things that you want to have. For example, you may want to ensure that you get to keep your personal vehicle, the house that you had already paid off prior to the marriage, or even things like your personal computer. Having it in a prenuptial agreement will prevent the ownership of these items from being questioned.
Businesses
If you own a business, it is a good idea to use a prenuptial agreement to state who has the right to ownership of the business after a divorce. This can be a tricky situation because it may be a business that one person built up on their own but used to provide income for the entire family. Make it clear who runs the business, and consider adjusting spousal support as it's own agreement separate from the business.
Child Custody
Custody can be tricky when there are young children that were brought into the marriage from a previous relationship. Simply stating who will have child custody after a divorce can clear up a lot of drama that would happen over who gets custody of a child.
Speak to a lawyer at firms like Crome Law Firm for assistance creating a prenuptial agreement document.
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