A couple of hours before you are to walk down the aisle, your fiancée pops his head into your room, and asks you to sign some papers – just in case anything should go wrong on the road to “happily ever after.” You are taken aback! “How could the person you are about to marry be asking you to sign something that deals with divorce?!?!?” “How could he ask you to sign a PRENUP?!?!?”
Though that particular situation is not good, since both you and your fiancée need to have the prenup reviewed by an attorney before signing, the actual concept of signing a prenuptial agreement is not a bad thing. Keep in mind, divorce is not the only reason for having a prenup drawn up. In fact, many of my clients don’t like the term “prenup”, feeling more comfortable with the term “asset agreement”.
As an estate planning attorney, a prenup is an effective tool in developing a person or couple’s estate plan. A prenup can also help a newlywed couple to identify how their separate assets should be used in the event one of them becomes incapacitated, dies or if they end up divorced.
The people who benefit most from the protections of a prenup are those who are entering into a second marriage. This is especially true in cases where there are children from the first marriage and the marriage ended due to the death of the spouse.
The new couple wants to start their life together, but have already built a life before which involves assets and children from their past. In such cases, the prenup acts to ensure that his “old” assets stay on his side, and her “old” assets stay on hers. When one of them becomes incapacitated, or ultimately dies, the proper “bucket” pays for the care or is passed along to his or her children.
In these situations, the prenup, in conjunction with a living trust, can provide for the survivor of the second marriage, as well as the children from the first.
By setting expectations up front, and working as team, the prenup can be an effective way to avoid major issues in the future! To schedule a free consultation to discuss your situation, contact us today at 888.222.1328.
Contributed by MH Arrowhead Attorney James P. Plitz
Morris Hall Can Protect You in Today’s Litigious Society:
We live in a litigious society, where over 1 million lawsuits are filed every year in America alone. Financial predators are looking for ways to take funds from others and often use litigation as their means to do so. At Morris Hall we provide your assets and your loved ones with important protections that can prevent financial predators from taking advantage of you. We do this through proper and current estate planning techniques. With an MH living trust, we can also protect your property, assets and loved ones from probate, estate taxes, gift taxes, creditors, Medicaid spend-down, conservatorship or guardianship proceedings, ex-spouses and more. A living trust also keeps your asset and beneficiary information private and secure to avoid giving financial predators information to use against you and your family. Without a living trust, this information will be made public. For those living in Arizona, we serve the areas of Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Fountain Hills, Scottsdale, Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona, Tucson, Sonoita, Arrowhead, Avondale, Goodyear and Tempe. In we serve the areas of , , Rio Rancho, White Rock, Alamogordo, Truth or Consequences and more. Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment with an attorney in your area!
This blog should be used for informational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.
This blog should be used for informational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.
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