Marriage can be a wonderful experience, but it can also lead to devastating ends. If you and your spouse are on the brink of divorce, you might be worried about what that means for your assets. Going through a divorce can bring out the greediness in your spouse that you never knew was there, and you want to do everything you can to protect your property.
To make the divorce process a little easier, you might want to consider a postnuptial agreement (also called a postnup). Similarly to a prenuptial agreement, postnups let you and your spouse make specific decisions on certain assets in case of a divorce. You can protect valuable assets, decide on alimony payments, and much more.
If you’re considering divorce, but you want to ensure your spouse can’t claim a part of your property, you might want to sign a postnuptial agreement. Here are a few reasons to choose a postnup:
- You received an inheritance. A large inheritance is one of the main reasons many couples draft a postnuptial agreement. If you want to ensure that your spouse cannot claim a percentage of your inheritance, you can protect it with a postnup. The postnup will legally define the inheritance is only yours, which means it cannot become marital property during the divorce.
- You own a business. A profitable business is another significant reason to sign a postnup. Any income you receive from the business during the marriage can become marital property, but a postnup can define that your business’ profits will remain solely your property.
- You have children from a previous marriage. If you have children from a past marriage, you can use a postnuptial agreement to ensure those children receive certain assets or inheritance. Essentially, you’re protecting specific assets from becoming marital property during a divorce to guarantee that your children will receive them instead.
- You don’t have a prenup. If you don’t have a prenuptial agreement from before your marriage, a postnup is your best bet to get some of the same benefits. With a postnup, you won’t have to regret the decision of not creating a prenup.
A postnuptial agreement can be a useful way to ensure that your property remains yours. An experienced attorney can help you draft the contract with your spouse so that you’re all set in the event of a potential divorce.