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Getting Married? 4 Reasons Why You Need A Prenuptial Agreement

8 July 2016

Norman Kelly

If you're about to get married, there are some things you need to know about prenuptial agreements. If you're like most people, you think that you'll never need a prenuptial agreement. Maybe you think that your marriage is never going to end in divorce, or that you don't have anything that would need to be protected in the event of a divorce. Either way, you might be putting your future in jeopardy. Here are four reasons why you should consider a prenuptial agreement before you get married.

Protect You from Debt

You might not have debt, but if your future spouse does, you may find yourself acquiring their debt once you're married. If that happens, creditors can turn to marital assets to satisfy payment for debts obtained by your future spouse prior to the marriage. You can protect your portion of the marital assets and property by having an attorney include a provision for those debts in a prenuptial agreement. Once the provision is written into the prenup, creditors will be precluded from using your portion of the marital assets.

Keep Assets Separate

If you and your future spouse have income that you want to keep separate, you can use a prenuptial agreement to document those decisions. This is particularly beneficial when both spouses have significant assets and income. Through the prenuptial agreement, you and your spouse will maintain control over your own assets throughout the marriage.

Identify Marital Responsibilities

You don't want to think about the prospect of divorce when you're planning your wedding. However, you should consider the prospect of marital fights and discords. A prenuptial agreement will allow you and your partner the opportunity to document how you plan on dealing with those disagreements. For instance, you may decide that you'll see a marriage counselor if problems arise that you can't overcome. Once you've created a list of marital responsibilities, you can incorporate them into your prenup.

Protect Your Kids

If you have children from a previous relationship, a prenuptial agreement can protect them should something happen to you. With a prenuptial agreement, you can determine how you want your portion of the marital property to be divided should you pass away. This will ensure that your children receive what they're entitled to from your portion of the estate.

Now that you're getting married, you don't want to think about divorce. However, divorce isn't the only reason why you need a prenuptial agreement. For more information on how a prenuptial agreement will benefit you, be sure to speak to a family law attorney like http://rhslaytonlaw.com.

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