Page 159 - Wedding Essentials & Essential groom Issue 8

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

PRENUPTUAL AGREEMENTS

crucial document that needs to be thoroughly connected, it’s split 50% between the two of you. If you
planned and investigated is the prenuptial both own property, 50% of your property is exchanged for
agreement. If you, like many other soon-to-be 50% of your partner’s. This rule also applies to debt and
A newlyweds, don’t know where to begin when credit, so if one of who have poor credit rating, it will affect
signing a prenup, have no fear! This simple, thorough guide the other’s credit rating as well. This is why getting married
will break down all the necessities and need-to-knows in community of property is considered a bit of a risk. Keep
about these mysterious pieces of paper. in mind though, if you and your partner do not draw up a
prenuptial contract, you will be automatically bound by this
The first thing that must be addressed, is what it is and agreement by law, so be sure to do some proper planning
what it means. Many people are under the impression that when going about the prenup process.
a prenuptial agreement is a “backup plan” in case things
don’t quite work out with your new companion, a “who gets 2. GETTING MARRIED OUT OF COMMUNITY OF
what” contract in case the D-word is thrown into the equa- PROPERTY WITHOUT ACCRUAL
tion. This could not be further from the truth, as a prenup
is a vital document which specifies ownership of debt and In this agreement, all assets and liabilities remain under
assets once you’re both officially married. ownership of the respective partner. There’s no sharing of
any finances, so if one partner incurs a severe amount of
Prenups can serve many purposes, and the details of a pre- debt, it doesn’t affect the other’s credit rating. This also
nup vary between different couples. For example, parents applies to income, so in this agreement, neither partner has
with children from previous marriages can use the prenup any right to the other’s earnings.
to specify what happens to their property if you were
to... kick the bucket. If your prenup hasn’t specified what 3. GETTING MARRIED OUT OF COMMUNITY OF
happens to your assets, your spouse may be fully entitled to PROPERTY WITH ACCRUAL
your property, leaving behind very little or nothing for your
children. This contract allows you to customize the details of your
prenup. You’ll be able to specify who owns what in your
Prenups aren’t all in case of emergencies, perhaps you and marriage. So if you want to share certain assets or liabilities
your partner simply want to specify your financial rights such as property or debt, this is a far better option. You’ll be
and responsibilities during your marriage. It doesn’t matter able to outline ownership in detail and have a prenup that
whether or not either of you have children, and you don’t suits you both.
need to be superbly wealthy either, it’s just helpful to have
some clarity on who owns what throughout the marriage. To ensure that your prenuptial agreement covers all the
They’re also used to protect one another from any debt in necessities thoroughly and carefully, consider hiring an
the relationship. attorney or a financial advisor. They’ll help you detail the
contract correctly and efficiently, keeping you both secure
There are three main types of prenuptial agreement to and happy with the agreement. Be sure to ask your attorney
choose from: as many questions as possible, one cannot be too meticu-
lous when going about these situations.
1. GETTING MARRIED IN COMMUNITY OF PROP-
ERTY It’s vital that you establish a prenup well before the day of
your wedding. This isn’t the type of thing that should be
Often considered somewhat of an “all in!”, this option takes left to the last minute, make sure that the contract has been
the assets and liabilities of both you and your partner and fully established at least a month before your wedding. The
merges them together. Once everything you both own is sooner the better.

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