Should I sign a prenuptial agreement? If you are wondering whether a prenup can protect your estate in the event of a divorce, the answer is yes. This article explores how.
By now, practically everyone has heard the news: Bill and Melinda Gates are getting a divorce. For anyone who has followed the seemingly happy couple in the news over their decades-long marriage, the announcement was probably shocking. Perhaps even more surprising to many is that, with wealth that once made Bill Gates the richest person in the world, they did not have a prenuptial agreement.
While they are using a separation agreement—a type of postnuptial agreement—to divide their assets, couples who are planning to get married soon may not want to follow their example.
Here are a few reasons why.
Reasons to Get a Prenuptial Agreement
Keep the Assets You Had before You Got Married
A prenuptial agreement may feel like planning for failure before a marriage even begins, but in the end, having one in place is about protection. As the Gates’s marriage shows, a couple can stay together for a long time, yet something can happen that changes everything in an instant.
The important question to ask is, “If something happens, do I want to risk losing what I have worked so hard to achieve?”
Address Spousal Support
Another reason couples should consider a prenuptial agreement is to sort out spousal support in advance. Alimony can be expensive for the paying spouse, so knowing what to expect in case divorce is unavoidable can make the consequences less severe. At the very least, both parties can prepare.
Inheritance
In some cases, estate planning clients protect their family wealth by requiring their children and their spouses to sign a prenuptial agreement before they can inherit any assets. When such arrangements are in place, families can keep their assets in the family.
Debt
Another reason that many people choose to have a prenuptial agreement in place is to protect their assets from any debts that their spouse may be bringing into the marriage. It is possible to shield certain assets from collections and liquidation during bankruptcy proceedings.
Should I sign a prenuptial agreement? Get the estate planning advice you need now.
A prenuptial agreement is far from the only way to protect your estate and ensure that your assets don’t fall into the wrong hands. At Casal & Moreno, we offer expert legal advice to help our clients keep their estates secure, whether divorce happens or not.
If you are wondering how a prenuptial agreement will impact your estate plan, we want to talk to you. As estate planning attorneys, we can help you navigate all of your options so that you can be sure you are making the right decisions.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Want to sit down and talk? Schedule a consultation today.