Deciding Whether a Pre-Nuptial Agreement is Right for You in Massachusetts
Deciding Whether a Pre-Nuptial Agreement is Right for You in Massachusetts
Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.
- Author Unknown
A prenuptial agreement is a contract executed by a couple before they marry, and it concerns the ownership of their respective assets should the marriage fail.
Nothing kills romance faster than the word pre-nup. On a practical level, with almost half of all marriages ending in divorce, a prenup may be an insurance policy in case things don't work out long term.
Marriage is not just an emotional and physical union, it's also a financial union. A prenup and the discussions that go with it can help place the financial well-being of the marriage on a solid foundation. The contract spells out how assets will be distributed in the event of divorce or death.
Getting to know your assets and property can help make up your mind if need to have a prenuptial agreement before you get married. There are three steps to determine this:
1. Take a Prenuptial Quiz. If you and your spouse-to-be answer yes to any of these questions, chances are having a pre-nup is helpful. If most answers are no, aprenup can still be helpful but not as critical.<.p>
Do either of you possess any real estate?
Do either of you possess money amounting to $50,000 or more aside from having real estate?
Do either of you own a business?
Do either of you earn more than $100,000 annually?
Do either of you have any valuable employment benefits like stock options or profit sharing or have you earned more than a year's worth of retirement benefits?
Does either of you plan to pursue an advance degree while the other one works?
Do either of you have other heirs for your estate other than your spouse when you die?
2. Identify Important Issues
List all the issues you want addressed in a prenuptial agreement. In this way you can check and discuss these issues with your spouse-to-be. These issues may touch upon subjects like separation of property, how to handle money and property during the course of marriage, alimony, or how your property will be treated after death.
Other common prenup topics may include:
Joint or separate property
Estate planning issues including leaving family property or provisions for children from previous marriage
Handling of separate businesses
Separate handling of each person's debts
In case of separation or divorce, who gets what, including alimony
Income tax returns, filing and allocation of income
Who will be responsible for the household expenses and how payments will be funded
Managing joint bank accounts and separate bank accounts
Specific big ticket purchases
Credit card charges and and how payments will be funded
Investment and savings plans for the future
Arrangements regarding education
Agreements regarding the provisions for the surviving spouse just in case the other one passes away.
How to settle disagreements in the future
3. Assess your Comfort Level
On a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, how comfortable are you with the idea of having a prenup? How comfortable do you estimate your spouse-to-be will be with a prenup?
Score of one to two: What are the reasons for your discomfort? Are you unsure whether you are in a better legal and financial position without a prenup vs. with a prenup? Do you know enough about the laws and regulations about prenup in your state? Are you worried about offending your fiancé? Is it possible that the two of you need to be able to talk about difficult matters in a loving way, as a way to pave the way for more open communication with your spouse-to-be in the future?
Score from three to five: if you are comfortable enough to talk to your fiancé, then go ahead and start discussing the specifics. Discussing it in a level-headed manner can be a good start to see each other eye to eye. Be open about the discussion and don't take all in one go. Take your time, be open minded and build on trust openness and transparency.