Prenup
Joseph Zyiuahndy
HelloPrenup serves as an innovative and exciting resource and information hub for people across the country. I consider it a privilege to work with HelloPrenup on its mission to make the prenuptial agreement process more efficient and intuitive.
HelloPrenup has revolutionized prenuptial agreements by making them accessible, affordable, and user-friendly. The platform fosters open communication, allowing couples to craft a prenup together.
What do I need to know for my state guidelines?
What makes your prenup valid in the state you live in.
What to consider for my state?
Any specific guidelines that are necessary to follow.
How to create a state specific prenup?
Broken down in an easy to follow format.
What to consider in my state specific prenup?
And some ideas to get you thinking.
The premier online platform for affordable, fast, and comprehensive prenuptial agreements.
HelloPrenup does not offer legal advice or representation and is not a law firm or a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney or law firm. The information provided on this site is not legal advice. If you are looking for advice or representation regarding your specific situation, you should contact an attorney in your state.
The premier online platform for affordable, fast, and comprehensive prenuptial agreements.
HelloPrenup does not offer legal advice or representation and is not a law firm or a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney or law firm. If you are looking for advice or representation regarding your specific situation, you should contact an attorney in your state.
If you're planning to get married, you may be wondering whether you need a prenuptial agreement (or "prenup" for short). Before you make that decision, you should understand what a prenup is, what it can and can't do, the most common reasons couples choose to sign these agreements, and what makes a valid prenup.
A prenuptial agreement is a written contract created by two people before they're married. Typically, a prenup lists all of the property each person owns and debts they owe, and it spells out each person's property rights during the marriage and in the event that they later get divorced..
Contrary to popular opinion, prenups are not just for the rich. While premarital agreements are often used to protect a wealthy spouse's assets, couples of more modest means are increasingly turning to them for their own purposes. There are many reasons some people want a prenup, including:
If you don't make a prenuptial agreement, your state's laws determine who owns what property during your marriage, as well as what happens to separate and marital property in divorce or when one spouse dies.
If your state's laws on marital or community property aren't to your liking, it's time to think about a prenup. In most cases, a prenup will allow you to decide for yourselves how you'll deal with your property.
As prenuptial agreements become more common, the law is becoming friendlier toward them. Traditionally, judges scrutinized prenups with a suspicious eye, because they almost always involved a waiver of legal and financial benefits by a less wealthy spouse.
As divorce and remarriage have become more prevalent, and with more equality between the sexes, courts and legislatures are increasingly willing to uphold premarital agreements. Today, every state permits them. But judges will still set aside agreements that are unfair or otherwise don't meet state requirements for prenuptial agreements.
Because judges look carefully at prenups, it's important that you negotiate and write up your agreement in a way that's clear, understandable, and legally sound. If you draft your own agreement, both you and your spouse should have separate lawyers review it and at least briefly advise you about it. In fact, some states require this independent legal review. And even if it's not a requirement, judges are more likely to question the validity of a prenup if each spouse didn't have independent legal advice before they signed the agreement.
Before you visit a lawyer, you can begin drafting your own prenuptial agreement. Nolo's Prenuptial Agreements: How to Write a Fair & Lasting Contract shows you how to create a draft agreement that you can then bring to separate lawyers for review. It provides worksheets to help you and your fiancé determine what your prenup should cover and clauses for preparing an agreement that suits your needs, as well as lots of examples and samples to make your job easier.
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup) is a written contract entered into by a couple before marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the legal rights they acquire upon marrying, and what happens when their marriage eventually ends by death or divorce. Couples enter into a written prenuptial agreement to supersede many of the default marital laws that would otherwise apply in the event of divorce, such as the laws that govern the division of property, retirement benefits, savings, and the right to seek alimony (spousal support) with agreed-upon terms that provide certainty and clarify their marital rights.[1][2] A premarital agreement may also contain waivers of a surviving spouse's right to claim an elective share of the estate of the deceased spouse.[3]
In some countries, including the United States, Belgium, and the Netherlands, the prenuptial agreement not only provides for what happens in the event of a divorce but also protects some property during the marriage, for instance in case of bankruptcy. Many countries, including Canada, France, Italy, and Germany, have matrimonial regimes, in addition to, or in some cases, instead of prenuptial agreements.
Postnuptial agreements are similar to prenuptial agreements, except that they are entered into after a couple is married.[4] When divorce is imminent, postnuptial agreements are referred to as separation agreements.[5]
Laws vary between states and countries in what content they may contain and under what conditions and circumstances a prenuptial agreement may be declared unenforceable, such as an agreement signed under fraud, duress, or without adequate disclosure of assets.
In India, prenuptial agreements are very rare and do not have any governing laws. However, with rising divorce rates, people are showing increasing interest in them. Some lawyers think that prenups don't have legal sanctity in India. However, some form of contract is signed in some cases, usually among affluent citizens. But, the agreements need to be reasonable and not violate pre-existing laws like the Hindu Marriage Act. Indian courts allow a memorandum of settlement to be signed during divorces. But, no court has yet been asked to enforce a prenup.[6]
Goa is the only Indian state where a prenuptial is legally enforceable, as it follows the Portuguese Civil Code, of 1867. A prenuptial agreement may be signed between the two parties at the time of marriage, stating the regime of ownership. If a prenuptial has not been signed, then the marital property is simply divided equally between the husband and wife.[9][10]
The prenuptial agreement in Thailand is concluded by mutual consent of the man and woman who want to marry. Under Thai law, a prenuptial agreement is recognized by the Commercial and Civil Code of Thailand. A valid and enforceable Thai prenuptial agreement legally requires that
These conditions are found in clause 1466 of the Commercial and Civil Code of Thailand.
Following the laws on Thai marriage, the prenuptial agreement mainly relates to assets and financial implications of marriage and establishes conditions of ownership and management of personal and concrete joint property and potential division of marital assets, if the marriage will be dissolved. The prenuptial agreement also includes a list of each side's assets at the time of the marriage and guarantees, that debts and property before the marriage remain in possession of the initial owner or debtor.
Personal property includes:(Mostly described at clause 1471 of the Commercial and Civil Code of Thailand):
Prenuptial agreements have long been recognized as valid in several European countries, such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. While in some of these countries, there are limits on what restrictions the courts will see as enforceable or valid (e.g. Germany after 2001, where appeals courts have indicated this) a written and properly initiated contract, freely agreed upon, cannot be challenged by, for instance, invoking the circumstances under which the marriage broke down or the conduct of either part. In France, The Netherlands and Belgium (as in Quebec, which has the same judicial tradition) prenuptial agreements must be set up in the presence of a notary.
A marriage (prenuptial) contract can be concluded by a woman and a man, who applied for registration of their marriage as well as by spouses. An underaged person, who wants to conclude a marriage contract before registration of the marriage, is to have the signed consent of his/her parent or custodian certified by a notary.
A prenuptial agreement is distinct from the historic marriage settlement which was concerned not primarily with the effects of divorce but with the establishment and maintenance of dynastic families, or a divorce settlement entered into by parties in connection with dissolving their marriage.
The legal status of prenuptial agreements in Northern Ireland is similar to that in England and Wales, in that they are generally regarded as not being legally enforceable.[19] However, since the ruling in Radmacher v Granatino, which also applied in Northern Ireland, the judiciary are more likely to hold parties to the terms of such agreements, unless doing so would be obviously unfair.[19]
aa06259810