By The Law Offices of Ronald H. Kauffman of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A. posted in Agreements on Wednesday, May 11, 2016.
Here are some statistics: the average wedding costs $20,000; June has the most weddings; $8 billion is spent on honeymoons. Marriage is expensive, which is why you may need a prenuptial agreement.
Many think prenuptial agreements are for the wealthy. But, you don’t always enter a marriage with riches, or guarantees that the bliss will last. It might not be a bad idea to have a plan in place.
Prenuptial agreements, or “prenups,” are contracts entered into before marriage that outline the division of assets in case of divorce or death.
They resolve things like alimony, ownership of businesses, title of properties, and even each spouse’s financial responsibilities during the marriage.
There are many other concerns that can be addressed in the contract:
– Caring for a parent
– Going back to school;
– Shopping habits
– Credit card debt;
– Tax liabilities;
– Alimony and child support from previous relationships; and
– Death or disability.
I’ve written about the need for prenups before. There are times when a prenup is a “must-have”:
1. When one person enters the marriage with significantly more money or assets than the other
2. When one or both future spouses have family money or inheritances,
3. When you want to keep parts of your finances separate: such as separate bank accounts, and a joint account for paying household bills.
One of the points of a prenup, is that if money in the bank becomes mixed, accounting for any increase or loss becomes very difficult to trace and unwind if you end up in divorce court.
Avoiding Future Arguments
Arguments about money are a known predictor of divorce. In order to avoid that, it is better to discuss with each other the terms of a prenuptial agreement when times are good. Difficult talks about money can uncover things that could be disastrous if put off until several years into the marriage.
The wedding and honeymoon will be expensive, and the courtship phase can conceal potential problems. Discussing financial issues can bring couples closer together when it matters most, and reduce the chance of a bitter financial argument later.
The wedding statistics article is here.