Prenuptial Agreements / Postnuptial Agreements
Mushkin & Rosenblum, Chartered works with couples who wish to establish the terms of a settlement agreement either before or after they are married in the event that they later decide to divorce or legally separate. Negotiating a prenuptial agreement before a marriage or a post-nuptial agreement after marriage is not only practical but can save time, money and heartache at a later date.
Working out the terms of a potential settlement in advance, especially if your joint and separate assets are complex and/or vast, enables you and your spouse or fiancé to decide for yourselves how you wish your assets and debts to be divided.
Even though you are working on your agreement as a couple, it is important that each of you has his or her own family law attorney to represent you and your interests while protecting your rights. You will also want to ensure that your agreement with your fiancé or spouse is drafted correctly in the event that you do get divorced or become legally separated. Premarital and post-nuptial agreements are legal contracts that are enforceable by law and can prove challenging to contest later.
Terms of a prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement addresses in specific terms many matters, including the following:
- Who gets what assets in the event that you decide to end your legal union
- How finances and assets will be handled during the marriage
- Spousal support terms
- Any business ownership issues
- What to do with your estate in the event that one of you dies
- The handling of gifts, inheritances or trusts
Benefits and disability and insurance coverage
Terms of a post-nuptial agreement
Married couples who have decided to create post-nuptial agreements are considered fiduciaries of each other, and they are therefore required by law to provide each other with full disclosure of all information and issues pertaining to the drafting of the post-nuptial agreement. The terms that can be settled by a post-nuptial agreement are similar to the ones included in a prenuptial agreement.
Challenging and enforcing prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements
If you have signed a prenuptial or a post-nuptial agreement that you now wish to challenge because your spouse did not disclose all of his or her assets or debts, you were unfairly pressured into signing the agreement, or you were deceived into signing the contract, we will help you challenge the terms of a defective prenuptial or post-nuptial agreement, and, if necessary, we will litigate your matter in court.
We also represent clients who wish to enforce the terms of their prenuptial or post-nuptial agreement that a soon-to-be ex-husband or ex-wife may now wish to contest.