You may have heard the recommendation of establishing a prenuptial agreement before you get married. However, this document is only beneficial if it is fair to both you and your spouse. Continue reading to learn what makes this document fair and how one of the experienced Bergen County prenuptial agreement attorneys at McNerney & McAuliffe can guide you through this.
How do I know what makes a prenuptial agreement fair?
To reiterate, a prenuptial agreement is only fair if it benefits both spouses. There are far too many instances in which the clauses within a prenuptial agreement are one-sided and catered to only one spouse. With this, you must review all the divorce-related terms within this document, such as your alimony payments and asset distributions, before signing it. What’s more, you must review the assets that your spouse included in this document and make sure that there are none strategically left out.
In addition, you must consider including a sunset provision within your prenuptial agreement. This will allow you to reopen this agreement down the road and determine whether it is still fair or whether it needs to be renegotiated. This is because alimony payments and asset distributions that are fair in the first year of marriage may not seem so fair after 10 or more years of marriage.
What makes a prenuptial agreement valid and enforceable?
Equally important to a fair prenuptial agreement is one that is valid and enforceable. For one, this document must include financial disclosures from both you and your spouse. This is so you and your spouse can be made fully aware of the financial agreement that you are entering into before signing. More specifically, you must disclose assets like your real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, investments, and business ventures, among other things.
Also, you must make sure that your prenuptial agreement follows the below criteria:
- You must make sure that your agreement is done in writing.
- You must make sure that your agreement is notarized.
- You must make sure that your agreement is voluntarily signed by both you and your spouse.
- You must make sure that your agreement is executed before your marriage.
And if you are already married, you will have to draft and establish a document known as a postnuptial agreement. Nonetheless, this document is similar when it comes to what is considered fair, what is considered valid, etc.
With all that being said, we recommend that you have a skilled Bergen County family law attorney present when you are drafting and establishing your prenuptial agreement. This is because just one small mistake can make your agreement unenforceable in the state of New Jersey. So, without further hesitation, reach out to our firm today.
