Certified Family Law Specialist, State Bar of California, and Board of Legal Specialization
Perhaps you and your spouse intended to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage but never finalized the details. Fortunately, married couples can use postnuptial contracts to address many of the same issues, including keeping certain assets from becoming community property and asset division in the event of divorce.
To learn more about whether a postnup is suitable for your situation, speak with a skilled Simi Valley postnuptial agreements lawyer. Our marital agreements attorneys have the experience necessary to draft a legally binding contract that effectively protects your future in case of a divorce.
Once married, spouses may have several reasons to enter a postnup contract. Regardless of a couple’s motivations, a well-practiced lawyer could help create a comprehensive post-marital agreement that covers any items that are important to them.
Signing a postnup allows married couples to ‘opt out’ of the state’s property distribution laws, which impose a 50/50 division of community assets. Couples who enter a postnuptial contract can decide for themselves how they would like to allocate their resources in the event of their marriage ending.
For example, if a spouse unexpectedly inherits substantial assets and wants to use them to improve the family home, they may rely on a postnup to protect the inherited assets from becoming community property in the event of divorce. A post-marital contract can specify what portion of the home improvements come from one spouse’s separate assets, allowing them to get that percentage back in the event of a divorce.
Postnuptial agreements can also protect one spouse from the other’s poor spending habits, such as debt incurred from excessive gambling. The other spouse could use a prenup to ensure they aren’t responsible for the gambling spouse’s liabilities.
Couples who intended to negotiate a prenup but neglected to do so in the excitement leading up to the wedding can sign a postnup for another opportunity to control their finances if their marriage is not successful. A well-practiced attorney in Simi Valley could discuss the potential advantages of entering a postnup and how a post-marital agreement could protect a spouse’s future from financial uncertainty.
Simi Valley family law courts scrutinize postnuptial contracts to ensure that they are fair to both spouses. Generally, a postnup must meet the following criteria to be legally binding on both parties:
Failure to meet any of these legal requirements could result in an unenforceable agreement, leading a judge to void the proposed prenup agreement. A knowledgeable lawyer would be well-versed in postnuptial contract requirements and could guide a couple through the process of drafting once.
Couples enter post-marital contracts for many reasons. Perhaps the stress of marriage has caused you to question whether your financial interests are adequately protected if you divorce.
Whatever the reason, a capable Simi Valley postnuptial agreements lawyer could help you successfully draft a valid and enforceable postnup. Get in touch with to one of our firm’s caring attorneys today about these useful marital contracts.
Hoffer Family Law Firm
