Premarital agreement - Free law preview - Premarital agreements forms - Premarital contract - Sample

   

Premarital agreement - premarital contracts - Premarital agreements forms - Premarital contract - Premarital forms sample

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You should have a Premarital Agreement.

A Premarital agreement is a contract between two persons who are planning to marry. Premarital Agreements are often called Premarital agreements. This contract determines the rights that each party has in the other's property. Couples often enter into Premarital agreements before they get married or when they get re-married after a divorce. Premarital agreements become operative in the event of divorce or the death of one of the spouses.

A Premarital agreement must be a document signed by both parties.
A Premarital agreement becomes effective upon marriage.

When a couple decides to marry, it has many decisions to make. A key legal decision is whether to have a Premarital agreement.

A Premarital agreement is a contract made by a couple before marriage. Although It is usually used to say how property will be divided in the event of divorce or death, it can be used to delineate many other issues in the marriage as well. Premarital agreements are most commonly used in second marriages when there are children from a prior marriage, or when one party to the marriage is a lot wealthier.

Working out difficult issues in advance can help avoid problems later. Also, a Premarital agreement can help protect an inheritance to a child from an earlier marriage. Finally, if a divorce does occur, the Premarital agreement may make it go easier and cost less for legal fees since some key issues will already have been decided.

A Premarital agreement can, of course, have some disadvantages as well. A difficult problem is the discomfort in addressing issues of divorce before the marriage. Another is that there's no guarantee a court will uphold all, or even part, of the agreement. For example, provisions that address child custody or child support issues are not binding on a court, since the child's best interests are the deciding factors.

There are several grounds for invalidating Premarital agreements. They vary from state to state, but generally include:
  • one side was pressured into signing;
  • the agreement was not "fair and reasonable" when made, or when it's to be enforced, it is so one-sided that it would be unfair to uphold it; or
  • one party hid important information.
Premarital agreements are becoming more common due to the high number of divorces in our society. Whether a Premarital agreement should be used depends on the circumstances of each case. If couples are considering a Premarital agreement, they should seek legal help. Laws regarding making Premarital agreements are complex, and each party should be fully aware of what he or she is signing.

Published: 2004/01/14                                                      All premarital agreement news

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