What You Should Know About Prenups

There is a common misconception that prenuptial agreements are only beneficial for high-net worth couples, but this simply isn’t true. There are many people who can benefit from the use of a prenuptial agreement when entering into a marriage, and therefore the more you know about these contracts the easier it will be for you to make an informed decision about whether or not it makes sense for you to implement one.

Here’s a quick overview of what you should know about prenuptial agreements.

• What they do: Prenups are a type of contract between a couple that sets out issues such as how marital assets should be divided in the event of death or divorce. New York, like every state, has its own laws regarding how these agreements can be enforced and what can and cannot be included.
• Full disclosure: Each party is expected to fully disclose their assets when implementing a prenup, which ensures the agreement is made in full fairness.
• Legal counsel: It’s generally advisable for each party to have their own legal counsel when creating a prenuptial agreement. This will ensure the agreement is valid and that both party’s needs are being advocated for.
• What they can’t do: There are certain limitations to prenuptial agreements. They cannot dictate what happens to premarital assets—those are entirely the property of the person who owned them before the marriage. They also can’t make unreasonable requests or stipulations, or handle anything dealing with the welfare of children (such as child custody or support).
• Get it done early: In general, it’s recommended to get prenups done long before the marriage. If you wait until the last minute to spring the idea of a prenup, the state might overturn the prenup’s validity if the issue is raised last minute, as it could result in a certain level of undue stress on the other party.

For more information about prenups, contact a reliable Long Island family attorney at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.