5 Things To Include In A Prenuptial Agreement

Are you about to get married and are considering a prenuptial agreement? If so, you'll definitely want to know some of the things that should be considered when creating one. 

Debt 

A prenuptial agreement can also be used to decide who is responsible for debts after a marriage. This could include things that each person entered the marriage with, such as existing debts and loans. A prenuptial agreement can state that those debts will continue to belong to the person that incurred the debt after a divorce so that both people are not responsible for the debt. 

A prenuptial agreement can also be used to determine what happens with new debts that are taken on during the marriage. This is often used if someone decides to take on debt to further their education since that degree would not necessarily benefit the other person after a divorce. 

Spousal Support 

Spousal support is paid after a divorce when one spouse needs financial help living on their own. A prenuptial agreement can be used to decide how much in spousal support should be paid after a divorce, or decide if spousal support will not be paid at all.

One thing to keep in mind about spousal support is that a judge can invalidate the terms of spousal support in a prenuptial agreement in some states. This would only be done if a judge decides that the terms of the spousal support would be unfair based on the situation surrounding the divorce.

Business Ownership

Diving a business after a divorce can be complicated, especially if one spouse did not have any involvement in the business. A prenuptial agreement can help specify how a business will be divided, which could include a payment to the other spouse for the part of the business that they have a right to. 

Inheritance 

There are laws that state how an inheritance will be received when a couple is married since an inheritance does not typically become marital property unless one spouse uses the inheritance for marriage purposes. A prenuptial agreement can state how an inheritance will be shared between both spouses, which allows a spouse to retain their inheritance while still using it to pay for marital-related bills. 

Property Division

Getting married doesn't always mean that all of each person's property becomes joint property. That's because some property that you have before the marriage will remain separate property if you get divorced. However, a prenuptial agreement can be used to put into writing how certain properties will be divided. This can be used to clarify who would get a vehicle, a home, and things of that nature.