Benefits of a Pre Nuptial Agreement

Wedding agreement is important document. Free pic morguefile.com by roganjosh

Increasingly, many couple are drawing up a pre nuptial agreement prior to getting married. For some, this may seem highly unromantic and something which they would never consider doing.

However, the reality is that many modern marriages do end in separation or divorce and a pre nuptial agreement can be a great help in preventing disputes becoming bitter. They are also often useful upon the death of a spouse.

So, what are the main advantages of having a pre nuptial agreement?

• Children from Previous MarriagesMany people will get married more than once in their lifetime. Quite often the first marriage will have produced children. A pre nuptial agreement allows property and monies to be treated separately for children from previous marriages and makes leaving possessions to ones own children, in a will, a much simpler task. If this is not done, the surviving spouse may have a significant amount of control over the estate and there is no guarantee that the children of the deceased will fully benefit.
• Financial Rights

Especially in the case of a couple who both have significantly well paid jobs, many couples prefer to protect their own income instead of putting it into a joint account. Some may argue that this is not what couples should do; however, it can make separations and divorces happen more amicably.

• Post Divorce Relations

A divorce can be both painful and messy, and few couples come out of it with good relations with their ex partner. This may seem unimportant for the adults, but can have a significant impact on any children that they may have had. If both couples agree to a pre nuptial agreement before marrying, then both parties know what they will get and this is likely to cause far less friction between them.

• Debt Protection

If no pre nuptial agreement has been made and one partner dies, the other partner is likely to be liable for their debts. This can be unexpected sometimes and can cause great hardship and stress to the surviving partner. A pre nuptial agreement can protect income and property in the event of the other partner getting into debt, whether they are dead or alive.

• Special Arrangements

Very often, couples will have individual requirements that they see as being essential to a happily married life. For some, as an example, it may be that one partner feels the need for sexual relations at least twice a week and failure of the other party to abide by this may even be seen as legal grounds for divorce. Of course, both parties have to agree to this prior to the marriage for this to be accepted as a legal defence for divorce, and whilst this may be a somewhat humorous example, it does indicate how special arrangements can be covered in a pre nuptial agreement.