There are certain situations that may call for you and your future spouse to enter a prenuptial agreement. Contrary to popular belief that prenuptial agreement is a precursor to divorce, it could even strengthen your relationship.
Now that you are engaged and have agreed on a date for the wedding, maybe it is also time for you to evaluate whether you need prenuptial agreement or not. While there are some who view a prenuptial agreement as an acknowledgment of a possible future divorce, it actually is not. It is simply a certain degree of protection if ever the ugly head of divorce shows up. So how do you know if entering into such agreement is the best thing for you?
You are a co-owner of a business
Imagine, for instance, that you are one of the four owners of a business enterprise holding an equal share as the other three. If sometime in the future your spouse files for a divorce, all your holdings will be subject to the proceedings. In short, your spouse may end up owning part of your shares, thereby becoming also part of the business.
What can happen?
Such situation may not be welcome to your partners and could potentially result in professional disagreements. In fact, according to Business.com, this situation can debilitate your business. To prevent this from happening, entering into a prenuptial agreement that specifically excludes your business shares from any proceeding may be the best option for you.
You have more money than your spouse
Supposing you invested $85,000 at Google’s initial public offering of $85, that would have been equal to a thousand shares. Today, your Google stocks could be worth more than $1,250,000. Though such amount may not qualify you as a multimillionaire, it is still a substantial amount even by today’s standards.
Your spouse has little
Assume further that your spouse has less than five thousand dollars to call as assets when you got engaged. In this situation, it might be prudent for you to seek a prenuptial agreement with regards to your shares of stock. A prenuptial agreement can help clarify about who owns what asset.
Your soon-to-be spouse has a huge financial baggage
Obviously, you would not want to be burdened by someone else’s debt in case your marriage ends, would you? There have been many cases like this before and it is always the spouse who had no debt in the first place ends up losing big time. If you are aware of your spouse’s debts before the wedding, it might be for your protection that you seek a prenuptial agreement.
These are only some of the instances when entering into a prenuptial agreement may be the right thing for you to do. Your family law attorneys in Denver could further enlighten you on other situations that may necessitate a prenuptial agreement.