As wedding season rolls through the summer, I have spent
many hours with clients preparing their prenuptial agreements before their
upcoming weddings. While it is not the most romantic thing to discuss before
your wedding, in many cases, a prenuptial agreement is a good investment before
you get married.
Years from now, if the prenuptial agreement is tested in
court, there are a variety of factors that a court will consider when deciding
if the agreement is enforceable. As a
preliminary matter, it is best to have the agreement signed in advance of your
wedding date, not five minutes before you walk down the aisle.
When preparing the agreement, instead of using some form you
found online, it is best to have an attorney prepare and review the document
for you. That attorney should not do the same service for your spouse. Your
spouse should have their own attorney sit down with them and review the
agreement and be sure to explain all of the provisions before they sign the
agreement.
The attorney involvement also helps when it comes to the
signing of the agreement. With certain formalities that need to be observed, it
is best to have the supervision of an attorney who knows the law and can be
sure that all of the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed.
In the agreement itself, it is important that all of your
assets and liabilities, and your spouse’s assets and liabilities, are disclosed
to the satisfaction of all parties. If you forget to mention that $25 million
bank account, it could come back to haunt you in the case of a divorce. Also,
if your agreement has very lopsided provisions that are really unfair to one of
the spouses, any court that is reviewing the document will take a skeptical
look at the agreement when deciding if it is enforceable.
While you may save a few dollars with an online form, if you
truly want to protect your finances, call an attorney and be sure to get the
prenuptial agreement professionally drafted.