Thank you to Martin Pringle Law Firm’s Divorce and Family Law Attorneys for sponsoring this post.
“Prenuptial” or “Premarital” Agreements are an agreement between prospective spouses in contemplation of marriage and are effective upon marriage. These agreements are becoming more widely used, partly due to the following: a rising divorce rate; higher numbers of second and third marriages that include property and children from prior relationships; more people marrying for the first time at later ages with more economic equality; and individuals having a strong desire to define the economic partnership of their relationship.
Why Do I Need One?
No one anticipates divorce as they are getting married, but it happens. Premarital agreements become important upon divorce, because all income earned during marriage is marital property. Also included are businesses started during the marriage, regardless of the other spouse’s contribution to the business. In Kansas, upon divorce, an equitable division of property is made and can be a lengthy process. Premarital agreements can help make that division decision before the emotions are high and can actually insert a financial understanding during the marriage. Afterall, a lot of marital disharmony comes from disagreement over financials. Premarital agreements can also become operative upon death and can be used as a party of an Estate Plan, because spouses have a right to an elective share of the deceased spouse’s estate, which means it can be difficult to disinherit a spouse. Other important considerations include:
- To protect family businesses, professional parties, pensions;
- To assure fair treatment of children;
- To protect preexisting assets from the statutory share;
- To protect income and assets acquired before or during marriage in case of divorce;
- To avoid extensive discovery proceedings upon divorce;
- To fix economic rights and obligations between the spouses, including contributions to household expenses and taxes; and
- To reduce or eliminate a spousal support obligation if the marriage ends in divorce.
What Does It Include?
To be valid in Kansas, the agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties. It must also be entered into voluntarily with full financial disclosure by each spouse, unless you expressly waive your right to financial disclosure. It is not required for each spouse to be represented by an attorney but is highly recommended.
Parties to a premarital agreement may contract with respect to the following: The rights and obligations of each of the parties in any of the property of either; the right to buy, sell, use, transfer, or otherwise manage and control property; the disposition of property upon separation, marital dissolution, death or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event; the modification or elimination of spousal support; the ownership rights in and disposition of the death benefit from a life insurance policy; amongst others. Kansas courts will generally enforce premarital agreements, however, will not enforce child custody or child support determinations if it is not in the “child’s best interest.”
Marriage is both a romantic and economic partnership. If you are getting married and own significant assets, want to start a business or already a part of a family business, just want financial certainty for the future, or entering into your second marriage with children from a prior marriage – a premarital agreement may be worthy to consider.
This article is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.
Martin Pringle’s Divorce and Family Law Attorneys are experienced attorneys who have handled all aspects of divorce and family law matters including high conflict and high net worth divorces. Our attorneys advocate strongly for their divorce clients while striving to make the divorce process as non-contentious as possible. They work proactively to minimize conflict, and they seek to resolve the parties’ differences efficiently and economically.
