Prenuptial agreement is an agreement between two people before marrying that establishes rights to property and support in the event of divorce or death. The legal agreement between the married couple that sets the laws that how assets will be divided when the marriage will be dissolved. If the couple decides to enter a prenuptial agreement, it must be accepted to both the parties before they enter the marriage.
The agreement also states the procedure to be followed regarding the distribution of assets if one partner dies before the other. The prenuptial agreement is quite popular amongst wealthy couples.
Prenuptial is also known as an antenuptial contract or premarital agreement and is commonly abbreviated as the prenup. As the prenuptial agreement is entered of the parties agree to exclude the system of Community of Property from their marriage.
These are two forms of Antenuptial contracts, those including Accrual and those excluding Accrual. If before marriage the prenuptial contract is not signed then is deemed that the parties are married in Community of Property, this states that most of the property acquired by a spouse during marriage. This implies that all the assets and the liabilities (even the ones that have been acquired before marriage) are combined in a joint estate, and of that each souse has an undivided half- share.
The benefits of the prenuptial contract:
There are several benefits of the prenuptial contract and thus it has become a common practice to sign it before the marriage. A few of the common benefits are as follows:
- If either of the party is declared insolvent the creditors of the insolvent spouse do not affect the other spouse.
- The prenuptial contract can be drafted as per the individual needs of the parties involved and the circumstances.
- It protects the spouse from any debts that the other spouse might have taken before the marriage.
- Assets from which the spouse does not want to part for emotional or financial reasons.
- The financial identity of both parties is retained.
- It protects from the malpractices that are often seen when the alimony is claimed.
Prenuptial contract is a very sensitive matter. In the case of marriage, it is deemed that the husband needs to take care of the wife and all her needs. In the event of divorce the usually the custody of kids is given to the wife. Thus her financial situation needs to be strong. Alimony is the amount that the court orders the husband to pay to the wife for her sustenance.
The husband, in this case, cannot withdraw from the responsibility of paying the alimony. Also, it is stated that all the assets of the lady that she had received as gifts during and after the wedding remain to be hers.
The law is often misused and to seek alimony amount many marriages are happening. Marrying a rich man to seek a part of his property in way of alimony has become prevalent. Thus the concept of the prenuptial contract has grown so strong. The prenuptial contract saves the interest of the party who could have been cheated in the contract of marriage by means of alimony. However, if the parties enter prenuptial contract they must be well aware that in the event of a divorce, the interest of the financial weak spouse and the kids are not hampered.