Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Many individuals do not consider baby boomers, marriage and pre-nuptial agreements all at the same time. However, statistics show that by the time many of the baby boomers have reached their 50^th birthday, over 20% of them have moved on to a second or third marriage. With the recent decline in the market and the reduction of assets, along with the fact that many “boomers” have split assets in a previous marriage, more and more baby boomers want to protect what they have should they enter into marriage again.

For years, people thought that pre-nuptial agreements were only for the rich and famous, but more and more “boomers” have become anxious to hold onto what they have, not only in the event of divorce, but in the event of death. A pre-nuptial agreement can help keep your assets separate during your lifetime, but also ensure that your individually owned assets pass to your children from a previous marriage. Individuals that should consider setting up a pre-nuptial agreement are those couples where there is a substantial difference in the assets between the two or where one of the individuals expects to inherit assets later on. There are some key factors to consider when setting up a pre-nuptial agreement to ensure that it is enforced later on. First of all, the discussion regarding the pre-nuptial agreement and the drafting of a pre-nuptial should begin several months before the wedding date. If a signing of a pre-nuptial is done in the “eleventh hour”, the court can ultimately choose not to enforce the agreement based on the concept of un-do influence. Second, both parties should be represented to avoid one of the parties claiming at a later time that they did not understand the terms of the agreement. Third, all assets should be disclosed and neither party should make an effort to hide assets. This will not only loose credibility with your spouse but with the judge. Keep in mind that a pre-nuptial is a contract and in any contract you can define when the contract begins and even when the contract ends. Some pre-nuptial agreements are set up to end after the couple has been married for a period of time. Although a pre-nuptial agreement is done in anticipation of marriage and possibly a future divorce, it is also a form of estate planning in that it can protect the assets that you have both now and in the future.