California is a community property state, which means that all assets that were acquired during the marriage are community property and split equally among the spouses (50/50). This property includes earnings, debt accrued throughout the marriage as well as items purchased with said earnings. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to this rule. For instance, if one spouse incurs debt through student loans during the marriage, this is considered as ‘separately incurred debt.’ As such, this debt is taken with that spouse on divorce. To avoid disputes related to marital property, some couples choose to have a Marital Property Agreement drawn up before they get married.
A Prenuptial Agreement or antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, is commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenup, is a contract that is drawn up between two people prior to entering into a civil union, marriage, or any other agreement prior to the main agreement by the people intending to marry or contract with each other. This should be drawn up with two attorneys representing the interests of each person separately well in advance when entering the marriage.
The content of a Prenuptial Agreement can vary, but generally it includes decisions for division of property in the event of breakup of the marriage, seperation or divorce. These include terms for the forfeiture of assets because of divorce on the basis of adultery; further conditions of guardianship of children may be included too.
A PostNuptial Agreement is a written agreement after a couple gets married, or have entered a civil union, to settle the couple’s affairs and assets in the event of a separation or divorce or death of one of the spouses.
It should be drawn up with two attorneys representing each person. Like the contents of a prenuptial agreement, provisions vary widely but commonly include provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce, death of one of the spouses, or breakup of marriage.
Why Do I Need A Prenup Or Postnup Agreement?
It is imperative that you and your intended life partner be prepared for your life together and define your financial affairs in case the relationship goes sour. This includes, determining which assets should be jointly owned and which assets should remain separate property.
Majority of the time people make the mistake of thinking only the prosperous need asset protection or estate planning. Factually, if you have even a modest positive net worth, you should investigate protecting your financial and assets, especially before moving into what you consider a life time relationship.
Prenup or Postnup Asset Protection Planning is the legal instrument to protect your hard-earned assets in case of a failed relationship that may arise.
Our experienced Asset Protection Attorney can help you legally establish the legally agreed ownership percentages of assets like the following:
If you are over 18 years old and do not have legal documents in order and especially if you are bringing assets into the relationship, it is vital to seek experienced legal counsel, especially if you are planning a civil union, marriage or living together as a couple!
A prenuptial agreement (also called a premarital or ante nuptial agreement) is a contract between two people who intend to marry and to be effective upon marriage. It can address how you will divide your property and responsibilities:
Due to the fact that you can use the prenuptial agreement to dictate everything from how the monthly bills will get paid to what religious institutions your children will attend. Nevertheless, one of the main reasons that you might want a prenuptial agreement is to ensure that what is yours before the marriage remains yours if the marriage finalizes.
Oftentimes, a prenuptial agreement is used by people who are getting married for the second or third time or in a situation where one person has substantially more financial income or assets than the other person coming into the marriage. Nevertheless, considering the increased divorce rate in this country, most people are using prenuptial agreements as a way of decreasing the emotional and financial toll of divorce by specifying in advance how their marital property will be divided.
Our expert Marital Property Attorney can help you create Separate Property Agreements (Post Nup) are documents that list those assets which, by definition, are the separate property of each spouse. This includes any property that was owned by the individual prior to the marriage, or any gifts, inheritances or awards that arise from lawsuits. If a Living Trust is used, the list of separate property is attached to, and becomes an essential part of, the Trust rendered. Since a Trust is simply a contract between two parties, if the parties agree to identify certain assets as separate property, the assets are identified.
The effect of a Separate Property Agreement is that separate property assets placed in the Trust will retain their characteristic as separate property, even though they will take on the name of the Trust. This means that the separately belonging to each spouse may be brought together for the enjoyment of both spouses. Upon the death of one spouse, the assets remain in the Trust to provide for the surviving spouse. Nevertheless, on the death of the surviving spouse, the separate property will go to the heirs specified by the spouse who owned the property.
Assets kept as separate property are often commingled as the marriage progresses. For example, you may enter into marriage and then receive an inheritance of stock, which you later decide to invest in your home for expansion or upgrading. Before you know it, this asset has become a part of the marriage property. Nevertheless, with Separate Property Agreements included as part of your Living Trust that property may easily be identified as separate property and be treated as such.
Separate Property Agreements are especially beneficial if a husband and wife have each been married before, and both have children by their former marriages. When two people are married, they bring their previously acquired assets together so that together they might enjoy a higher standard of living. The couple desires that, upon the death of one of them, the surviving spouse should continue to enjoy that same standard of living. Furthermore, upon the death of the surviving spouse, the couple wants his or her share of the estate to pass on to the children of his or her former marriage.
Post-Nuptial Agreements (During Marriage Or Relationship)
A postnuptial agreement is a voluntary marriage contract between spouses that is created after their wedding. This agreement addresses the same issues as the Pre-Nupital Agreements.
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