Contrary to popular opinion, a pre-nuptial agreement is not only for the rich and the famous. Even ordinary people who wanted to protect their own properties before saying “I do” may enter into a pre-nuptial agreement.
A pre-nuptial agreement is a contract entered into by two parties before marriage. The agreements state the details in case of a failed marriage, especially those that pertain to finances.
Each couple has their own reasons for entering into a pre-nuptial agreement. The most popular ones are stated below.
1. To avoid legal battles. The pre-nuptial agreement settles any disputes outside the court, the couple saves time and money while keeping their divorce proceeding away from the public’s eyes. The agreement also protects the children from emotional torture during the course of the divorce.
2. To provide guidelines for splitting assets acquired during the time of the marriage. Assets acquired by the couple during the time of the marriage will be divided upon divorce. The pre-nuptial agreement makes splitting the community property a lot easy.
3. To keep the personal debts of each of the couple to themselves. The pre-nuptial agreement separates debts to each of the couple. Each one will be responsible to pay for their personal debts when the divorce becomes final.
4. To protect the interests of the children from the children of a previous marriage. The pre-nuptial agreement protects the present children from otherwise going to the children from a previous marriage in the absence of a pre-nuptial agreement.
5. To protect the bequests and heirlooms. There are things of sentimental value and the pre-nuptial agreement would detail who gets these things in case of a divorce.
6. To protect any inheritance. Each of the couple may have brought an inheritance to the marriage and the pre-nuptial agreement prevents it from being incorporated into the community property.
7. To provide details for pet care and ownership. There are people who treat pets as family members and the pre-nuptial agreement spells out who should own and take care of the pets in case of a divorce.
8. To detail any obligations for spousal support. Spousal support or alimony can be spelled out in the pre-nuptial agreement. However, child support can never be agreed upon in the pre-nuptial agreement.
9. To detail rewards for certain behaviors. The pre-nuptial may also contain provisions for rewards for certain behaviors. For instance, the pre-nuptial agreement may also be tied to a person’s abstinence from a certain practice.