Pre & Postnuptial Agreements

Prenuptial Agreements

You’re engaged…Congratulations! But before you take the walk down the wedding aisle, you should contemplate taking a drive to the office of an experienced marital and family law attorney.

The time leading up to a wedding should be a time of great excitement and anticipation of the big day when you exchange your vows. Even although a marriage is based on a romantic relationship, it is also an economic partnership. When you say “I do” there may also be a list of things you wish you had said “I don’t” to before the wedding. A well – crafted prenuptial agreement can help you sort out these matters.

When you decide to spend the rest of your lives together, it is often difficult to broach the subject of a prenuptial agreement. After a ll, who wants to infuse the possibility of failure into a marriage that is about to begin ? But, in reality, a frank and candid discussion of each party’s expectation about the handling of finances, including assets and debts that each party has prior to the marriage, contribution to the acquisition of future assets, including a home and other real property, payment of future debts and co-mingling or separation of monies earned during the marriage are all topics worth discussing, before the marriage, rather than after. We like to equate a prenuptial agreement to a n auto insurance policy…you purchase it for protection, but you hope you never have to use it.

People often ask, what the main reason is that marriages fail. Although there is a myriad of responses, the common core seems to be a lack of communication. So, if you and your future spouse can be open and honest about financial issues in advance of the marriage, and enter into an agreement governing the handling of these issues, it leaves fewer topic s for disputes after the marriage.

Protecting your Children

IN a divorce:

Without a prenuptial agreement, Florida divorce law starts with the premise that all assets acquired and liabilities incurred during your marriage will be equally divided upon dissolution A prenuptial agreement can not only protect assets you had before the marriage, but can protect assets you acquire during the marriage and leaving those assets intact for you or, if you chose, your children in the future.

Upon your death:

Although nobody likes to think about end – of – life issues, even of you stay married till death do you part, if you have from another relationship, and you want to make your own decision as to what your children inherit, then a prenuptial agreement is a must. A prenuptial agreement gives you control over what your children may inherit on your death. For example, absent a prenuptial agreement, if you pass without a will and have children from another relationship other than your spouse, your spouse will s till get half of your estate, leaving only half to your other children. Even if you have a will, and wish to limit or exclude your spouse from the will, that spouse, upon your death, can elect against the will and would be entitled to a third of your estate. But a prenuptial agreement can change this.

Protecting a Family Legacy Often a family may have substantial assets that they wish to keep in the “family”. A prenuptial agreement can be crafted to isolate those legacy assets and ensure that the legacy remains intact, including passing these assets to children in the event the marriage ends in divorce, or if you predecease your spouse. We frequently collaborate with estate planning attorneys to ensure the prenuptial agreement work s in harmony with family trusts and estate planning tools to ensure that a family’s wea lth stays intact. Working with an estate planning attorney also allows you to ensure that a spouse is provided for if you die first, but gives you more options to ensure your wishes are carried out.

When to talk about a prenuptial agreement

Discussing a prenuptial agreement sooner rather than later is key. It is not too soon to discuss that a prenuptial agreement may be on the horizon as soon as you start discussing marriage. An engagement proposal or acceptance followed by a “by the way…we are going to need a prenuptial agreement” is not the best start. So, discuss early, and once engagement is set that is the time to start working on an agreement, It often takes many drafts to finally establish an agreement, and that takes time…the sooner the better. Nobody wants to be in a lawyer’s office signing a prenuptial agreement the same week your wedding guests are arriving.

We also review and negotiate prenuptial agreements

Our firm focuses on listening to what you want to achieve in a prenuptial agreement, and then works with you to help develop those goals into a legally enforceable, yet fair agreement. Of course, your intended spouse must agree with the terms and conditions of the prenuptial agreement after receiving full disclosure of all assets and liabilities. Therefore, he/she must also seek independent legal counsel to avert any potential issues of undue influence or misunderstanding in entering into the agreement.

In the event, even after a well thought out prenuptial agreement, if you or you r spouse decide to end the marriage in the future, you may not be in a generous and cooperative frame of mind at that point. The prenuptial agreement will already have divorce issues such as alimony and division of property and debts sorted out. And by taking the time to settle those issues in advance, you can protect yourself against the possibility of a drawn – out emotionally and financially taxing legal battle.

Contact our office to discuss the bene fits of a prenuptial agreement

The Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. strives to make the prenuptial agreement process a positive experience, where both parties become closer as a result of the communication needed to complete the process. As experienced Family Law Attorneys, with an understanding of not only family law, but estate planning and tax law as well, we ca n help you navigate through all of the issues involved in drafting a meaningful prenuptial agreement.

If wedding bells are in your future, call the Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. at 954 – 316 – 3496 or contact us at info@vovalaw.com to discuss how a prenuptial agreement can strengthen your future marriage.

It is easy to overlook the fact that though marriage is based on a romantic relationship, it is also an economic partnership, and many rights and duties arise bet ween the couple by operation of law. In the event that you and your spouse decide to end the relationship in the future, you will have to sort out matters such as alimony and division of property and debts. You may not be in a generous or cooperative frame of mind at that point. By taking the time now to settle those issues in advance, you can protect yourself against the possibility of a drawn-out legal battle.

When a couple makes a decision to “spend the rest of their lives together,” it is often difficult to broach the subject of a prenuptial agreement. After all, who wants to infuse the possibility of failure into a marriage that is about to begin? A frank discussion prior to the marriage may actually work in promoting a successful marriage by opening up communication between the couple, and helping each party understand the obligations and expectations the other partner has in the marriage. There are many well founded specific reasons for parties to enter into a prenuptial agreement. Although this list is not exhaustive, these reasons include:

Our firm focuses on listening to what you want to achieve in a prenuptial agreement, and then works with you to help develop those goals into a legally enforceable, yet fair agreement. Of course, your intended spouse must agree with the terms and conditions of the prenuptial agreement after receiving full disclosure of all assets and liabilities. Therefore, he/she must also seek independent legal counsel to avert any potential issues of undue influence or misunderstanding in entering into the agreement.

The Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. strives to make the prenuptial agreement process a positive experience, where both parties become closer as a result of the communication needed to complete the process. As experienced Family Law Attorneys, with an understanding of not only family law, but estate planning and tax law as well, we can help you navigate through all of the issues involved in drafting a meaningful prenuptial agreement. Hopefully, we get invited to the 50th Anniversary Party where you use the document for confetti!

Postnuptial Agreements

Just because one is already marriage, this does not preclude a couple from entering into a postnuptial agreement governing the division of assets, liabilities and alimony if the marriage does not work. A postnuptial agreement is entered into after the marriage takes place. Like a prenuptial agreement, a postnuptial agreement can resolve matters that may arise in a divorce. It can also define rights or limitations regarding inheritances.

Although one may decide to end an engagement if the other party will not sign a prenuptial agreement, there is usually less incentive to enter into a postnuptial agreement since, after all, the marriage already occurred, and each party already has the legal rights and obligations established upon marriage under Florida l aw. Still, there are countless reasons why both parties may desire to enter into a postnuptial agreement. These could include when one spouse is about to receive a significant inheritance that they wish to keep separate from marital assets or where the parties’ marriage may be on shaky ground, and believe a division of assets and liabilities may allow the parties to work on saving the marriage.

Our firm is here to help you through the entire process of drafting a postnuptial agreement or reviewing an agreement your spouse may request. We review all the legal prerequisites necessary to create a binding agreement, and scrupulously ensure that these guidelines are included I your postnuptial agreement.

To that end, we ensure that each party makes a full disclosure of assets and liabilities, that there has been no fraud, deception, duress or coercion by either party in negotiating the agreement, and that there has been something of value (called consideration) exchanged between the parties to bind the contract. We also work carefully with our clients to make sure there is no question that both parties to a postnuptial agreement have made a full and detailed disclosure of all assets, liabilities as well as all sources and amounts of income.

Contact the Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.

A postnuptial agreement must meticulously comply with Florida law to be enforceable. If you would like to learn how a postnuptial agreement works and see if it might even strengthen your marriage, call the Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. at 954 – 316 – 3496 or email us at info@vovalaw.com.