Once you and your soon-to-be spouse decide in favor of creating a prenuptial agreement, it’s time to turn your attention to the details you’ll include.
It may take some discussion, negotiation and compromise, so don’t rush through this part of the process. It’s imperative for both individuals to be completely satisfied with the agreement before signing on the dotted line.
Here are some of the items most commonly included in a prenuptial agreement:
- Separation of debts brought into the marriage
- Separation of businesses
- Management of joint bank and retirement accounts
- Management of debt payments and credit card spending
- Savings contributions
- Protecting the inheritance rights of children from a previous relationship
- Property distribution
- How to settle potential disagreements in the future
Maybe you’ll include all these things in your prenuptial agreement. Or maybe you’ll only include a handful. Regardless, you need to discuss everything with your partner, thus allowing you to make the right decisions.
There are also things you can’t add into a prenuptial agreement, such as:
- Decisions associated with child custody and child support
- Waiving the legal right to receive spousal support
- Provisions that encourage a future divorce
With so much to think about when creating a prenuptial agreement, it’s imperative to take your time and discuss everything in great detail. By talking through everything, you’re more likely to settle on an approach that suits both of you, now and in the future.
It’s never easy to discuss the creation of a prenuptial agreement, but once you’ve completed the process, you’ll be glad that you took this step before tying the knot.
