When Can a Postnuptial Agreement Be Beneficial for Married Spouses?

 Posted on October 25, 2021 in Family Law

Most people are familiar with the idea of prenuptial agreements, which are legal agreements made by couples who are planning to get married. While prenups are often thought of as tools used by celebrities or wealthy people, they can provide benefits in many other situations. For couples who do not have a prenup or who wish to make additional agreements based on changes to their circumstances, postnuptial agreements can provide similar benefits. By understanding the situations where a postnup may be a good idea and working with an experienced family law attorney, spouses can use these types of agreements to address their needs.

Cases Where a Postnup May Be Used

A postnuptial agreement may address how certain types of issues will be handled if a couple chooses to get a divorce or legal separation, including making decisions about the division of marital property or spousal support. An agreement may also address other issues, such as each spouse’s right to make certain types of financial decisions during their marriage. A postnup can be beneficial in situations such as:

• One spouse has started a business - A spouse who is a business owner may want to take steps to ensure that they will be able to continue owning and operating their family business if they get divorced. A postnup can make decisions about how ownership of business assets will be handled. It can also protect the other spouse from being impacted by their partner’s risky investments by ensuring that assets such as the couple’s marital home will not be affected by a spouse’s business debts.

• One spouse has received an inheritance - While inheritances are generally considered separate property that will not be divided between spouses during a divorce, money or property that has been inherited may become commingled with marital property, affecting the ownership of certain assets. To prevent confusion about these issues, a postnup may specify that certain types of inherited property will remain the separate property of one spouse.

• One spouse is a stay-at-home parent - A parent who chooses to forego a career in order to raise the couple’s children and attend to household responsibilities may be at a financial disadvantage in a possible divorce. To protect the interests of a stay-at-home parent, a postnuptial agreement may state that they will receive spousal support in the case of divorce or that they will be able to retain ownership of certain property, such as the family home.

• A couple is experiencing relationship issues - If spouses are still trying to determine whether their marriage can be saved or whether they should move forward with a divorce, a postnup can allow them to make decisions about how certain issues will be handled if they decide to end their marriage. This can give spouses the incentive to work on repairing their relationship, while also taking some of the uncertainty out of a potential divorce.

Contact Our Kane County Postnuptial Agreement Attorneys

At Goostree Law Group, we can help you determine whether a postnuptial agreement is right for your situation, and we can work with you to draft and negotiate an agreement that will meet your needs. We will make sure you understand your rights and options, and if necessary, we can help you make sure the terms of a postnup are followed during the divorce process. To schedule a free consultation, contact our St. Charles postnup lawyers today at 630-584-4800.

Sources:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/postnuptial_agreement.asp

https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/family-finance/articles/what-is-a-postnuptial-agreement

https://www.forbes.com/sites/frawleypollock/2020/05/11/do-you-need-a-postnup/?sh=3041f2d96652