One of the most beautiful aspects of adulthood is the journey to finding your potential partner, and consequently marriage. While marriage is one of the staples of society, is it not always a bed of roses. Quite a few marriages end in divorce, especially in the U.S. Combine that with the number of altercations concerning assets, belongings and other things that spouses enter into the marriage with individually; divorce, when it occurs, delivers a high level of friction and confusion. Before anything were to happen most people suggest investing in a prenuptial agreement. Unfortunately, most people forget, often swept up in the emotion and pageantry of the event. Nevertheless, for those individuals there is a solution that exists once the marriage has already taken place.
That solution comes in the form of the Postnuptial agreement. Both agreements sound alike but what is the difference between the prenuptial and postnuptial? Mainly, the difference is that of timing. Usually a prenuptial takes place before the marriage, while a postnuptial occurs during the marriage. Both agreements deliver the same message, and one isn’t particularly better than the other, although the prenuptial is more common.
However, you might be asking “what is a postnuptial and why should I agree to one?”
Within a postnuptial agreement, there are a selection of terms that each party agrees to should a divorce were ever to occur. These include living situations, parental responsibilities to potential children, and some financial and property obligations required by each individual. The agreement lines out each situation and the list of actions both parties wish to take in the event that they take place. It is common understanding that these action will take effect immediately in the event of divorce to create stability in such a tumultuous situation. Consequently, outlining the terms and conditions will help give your marriage the security blanket you might have been expecting.
For a postnuptial agreement to be valid, both parties must willingly accept the terms of the agreement without coercion, duress or overreaching. If for any reason, the court finds that the agreement was made under these circumstances, then the agreement will be set aside and likely become modified by the court. This result also occurs if the court finds that the agreement was made due to fraud, misrepresentation, and or deceit.
If for any reason the court finds that the other party was not properly informed and knowledgeable regarding the constitution of the arrangement, then it is likely the court will void the agreement. To prove the validity of the agreement, one would need to prove that the other party was in fact informed and very knowledgeable. A bad decision is not enough to overturn the agreement.
When considering a such an agreement, please take into account the concept of consideration - the terms of what each party intends to give up or provide as part of the agreement. The agreement is basically a contract and should be regarded as such. For this reason, it is important to outline the terms and conditions of the agreement as the marriage itself does not serve as a form of consideration since the agreement is taking place after the marriage has been initiated.
Divorce can be very costly, not only in terms of legally and contractually initiating the divorce, but moreover the cost to even get those conversations started. Most people complain during a divorce about the monetary investments and assets being shared between themselves and their ex-partner. In order to avoid such complains, creating an agreement either before or after the marriage could be in important tool.
Divorce rates are rising and although most people would like to prevent such an event from happening, in some cases it can happen regardless. The reason one’s marriage could be saved under these pretenses of an agreement comes in part to the clear outlines created between both parties, their agreement to certain requirements and the knowledge or security that the plan will be carried out as intend creates a security blanket for most newly-weds. It is preparation for the worst should it ever come. Preparation is not a bad thing. Voting for a postnuptial will remove the headache concerning what belongs to whom and how much money one has invested in the relationship and should be due to recieve back. The answers to these discussion can usually be found in these agreements.
As specified earlier, the concept of marriage, divorce and marital agreements requires a court of law to verify such events have taken place. For this reason, it is important to request the services of an attorney, specifically one that practices in marital affairs. Without one, these cases could get incredibly tricky and costly. Your attorney can help create the perfect agreement for your marriage and be there for any modifications you wish to make in the future. Their main goal is to help assure you. With their advice and expertise, you can ensure you are walking into this marriage properly educated and prepared for every and any eventuality. Furthermore, these conditions are subject to change as your life changes with them. They aren’t set in stone, heightening the importance of needing an attorney to make changes on your behalf quickly and legally. Additionally, your attorney can help bundle your marital agreement alongside other agreements such as estate planning, trusts and tax law further expanding the security blanket, you are so desperately trying to acquire. While one can’t predict the outcome of your marriage, one can, through a marital agreement, predict how the future will be for you and your assets.
In Florida, there exists a large proportion of attorneys who specialize in this form of law, however, not many that come with a substantial amount of time practicing martial law. Considering and putting into action the implementation of an agreement like the one discussed will serve you greatly in the future. Contact Postnuptial Agreement Attorney is you are considering creating an marital agreement between you and your spouse. It will do you a world of good.
