Prenuptial agreements are a very important part of estate planning. Many times you will see an estate planner about a prenuptial agreement rather than a family lawyer. This is because estate-planning lawyers can help to protect your assets, create trusts for your property, and advise you on ways to safely protect your interests before you enter a marriage. Here are some circumstances in which an estate-planning lawyer would probably advise you to get a prenuptial agreement.
1. You Have Substantial Wealth or Property
Many people get married young and without any property. If you enter a marriage with little or no assets and you have very little savings, then you don't have a lot of need for a prenuptial agreement. Usually a prenuptial agreement is there to protect what you brought into the marriage. For instance, if you had a good deal of wealth or inheritance from your parents, you should consider a prenuptial agreement. You don't want your ex-spouse to get your inheritance in the event that you divorce.
Generally any wealth, property, or assets that you acquire during the marriage will be considered joint, so you will most likely have to split that when you divorce; however, you should be able to keep anything that was solely yours before the marriage if you properly state that in your prenuptial agreement.
2. You Have Children from a Prior Relationship
If you have children before you get married it is very important that you do what you can to protect them. You need to make sure that in the case you divorce your child's inheritance isn't included in the estate. In addition, you need to protect their inheritance and wealth if you should pass away. If you were to die, everything would probably pass to your spouse. This means that your children may not be entitled to the prior inheritance you had planned for them. To protect your children, you can create trust funds, extra provisions in a prenuptial agreement, and/or an estate plan that ensures that your children get their inheritance and are taken care of.
3. You Have Been Divorced Before
If you are entering a second, third, or fourth marriage, you probably already know how difficult a divorce can be. This is why it is better if you can get a prenuptial agreement that protects you and simplifies the divorce in the case that the marriage dissolves.
By understanding reasons why you should get a prenuptial agreement you can better protect yourself. Contact a family law attorney from a firm like Lynn Valley Law for further advice.
Share9 November 2015
The laws governing child custody and guardianship can be confusing. As a family attorney, I have helped many clients gain legal guardianship over a foster child or a relative's child. Getting legal guardianship of a child you are caring for is important because you need to be able to make decisions about that child's education, health care and other matters. This blog will help you navigate the world of legal guardianship and show you how to take steps to get guardianship over a child whether the child's parents are cooperative or not. Legal guardianship does matter even if a child is not going to be adopted. I hope to help people find the way to get this done.
