Prenups are good because they preserve the expectations of the parties and prevent 
surprises in a divorce trial. Prenuptial agreements are almost always enforced by the court.”
The agreements can also specify that future income from a business or additional assets accrued through inheritance are not to be shared with your spouse should the marriage
end.
You can basically do anything you want in a prenup, except you can’t limit child support, and you can’t limit child custody and visitation.
Prenuptial agreements can address property acquired before a marriage, such as a home or Grandpop’s antique desk, although some states recognize each spouse’s rights to his or her premarital property anyway. The problem people have is, after they get married, what’s become yours has become co-mingled. People can’t trace after 10 years of marriage what was theirs and what’s joint property.
Prenups are especially helpful for older couples and/or those who already have children. Older couples may want to protect children from a prior marriage or protect the ability of the one with lesser assets to go into a nursing home and not give everything over. People who have been married before are especially aware of the importance of taking these steps the second time around.
A lot of times, prenuptial agreements have a bad connotation. I see them happening with people who may have been divorced once, and have children and significant assets, and want to make sure their children and family are protected if something happens.
Remember to talk about it with your spouse way before you plan your wedding, and have it signed four months before you plan on getting married. Otherwise, you’re so focused on the prenup that you can’t focus on the joy of marriage.”
For couples who didn’t enter into a prenuptial agreement, they always have the option of forging such a pact after they say their vows. Postnuptial agreements are largely the same as prenups, laying out which assets will remain individual property and which will
be shared.
What’s fair?
Prenuptial agreements are supposed to be based on fair and full disclosure of assets, but states vary in how they view this legal tenet. The prenup has to be considered fair at the time it’s enforced.
There are other ways to keep assets separate that can work in conjunction
with a prenup, or alone.
A revocable living trust can ensure that certain property or income is directed to someone other than your spouse.
An even simpler tool is to retain separate bank accounts and keep real estate under your own names.
Some people, when they get married, immediately change title to property so it’s in both their names. The fact that you put the other spouse on the deed, (a judge) is going to assume you meant to give half of your interest to the spouse as a gift, and is going to consider that joint property.
Steven W. Hair, focuses his practice as a divorce attorney, family law attorney in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, and Safety Harbor.
For more information, visit our website at www.FamilyLawClearwater.com
or call (727) 726-0797.