The months before a wedding are hardly the times to be thinking about the potential for divorce. However, it is often the ideal time for engaged couples to have frank discussions about their financial goals and consider ways to protect one another and their assets. With a prenuptial agreement, they can accomplish these tasks.
Unfortunately, not many aspects of family law have a reputation as bad as prenuptial agreements. Most often, however, prenups can be ideal tools for helping couples decide from the outset how they will manage their finances throughout their marriage as well as in case of divorce. Additionally, specific circumstances may be especially conducive to the benefits of a solid prenup.
Complicating factors
Individual assets quickly become entangled soon after marriage. The community property laws in Texas may blur the lines between joint assets and assets spouses own individually. A couple may also want to define the distribution of their assets ahead-of-time if they are bringing any of the following factors into their marriage:
- A substantial gap between the income or wealth of the spouses, usually for the protection of the lower-earning spouse
- One spouse who has significant debt for which the other does not want to be responsible
- A business that one spouse does not want on the table for property division during a divorce
- Previous divorces, particularly those involving unfair or contentious asset division
- Children from past relationships for whom the parent wishes to ensure an inheritance
With experienced legal assistance, a prenup can be a flexible and personalized contract. Many couples include such privacy clauses or establish financial security for a spouse who wishes to leave the work force to raise children. However, it is wise for each partner to have individual legal counsel for their own protection and to be aware of the ways to avoid nullifying the terms of their prenuptial agreement over the years.