Brooklyn Prenup Agreement Lawyers
A prenuptial agreement is a contract that stipulates how property and assets will be divided up if the couple divorces. Many people think that they do not need a prenuptial agreement if they are not wealthy. However, it is a good idea for every married couple to get a prenuptial agreement. It doesn’t matter if you have millions in the bank or living check-to-check.
You and your future spouse will have to take a complete inventory of the finances. If there are assets and property that you would like to keep separate, then you will have to designate yourself as the owner of the property. You can also include your business assets in the prenup.
What Should You Include in the Prenuptial Agreement?
The prenuptial agreement has to be tailored to meet the needs of you and your future spouse. You will have to consider your social and financial situation. Your prenuptial agreement should designate how the assets and wealth will be split. If there is a family pet, then the prenuptial agreement should say who is going to get custody of the pet.
Your prenuptial agreement also needs to include the following.
- How you will handle business assets
- Marital property and separate property
- Who will get the house
- Who will pay the mortgage, insurance and taxes on the house
The Benefits of Having a Prenuptial Agreement
If you have a prenuptial agreement, then you will be able to keep your own finances separate from your future spouse’s finances. There are many types of property acquired in a marriage that will automatically be included as a part of marital or community estate. However, the prenuptial agreement can determine whether an asset or property will be included in the marital estate, or it will be separate property.
Prenuptial agreements do not include child custody or child support arrangements. However, if you have children from a previous relationship, then you can ensure that they are properly cared for after you pass with a prenuptial agreement. The prenuptial agreement can ensure that your children inherit your assets and property.
If you don’t have a prenuptial agreement, then the state may decide how everything will be divided. Additionally, the prenuptial agreement will stipulate financial responsibilities in a marriage. For example, it will stipulate whether the two of you will have separate accounts or joint accounts. It will also determine whether your spouse will be the beneficiary of your estate plan after you pass away.
The Do’s And Don’ts of Prenuptial Agreements
Do’s
- Consider your career and educational goals
- Consider your savings goals
- Consider your marital roles
- Consider the difference in property division
Don’ts
- Discuss child support or child custody in the prenuptial agreement
- Present the prenuptial agreement to a judge without talking to an attorney first
- Discuss the details of the prenuptial agreement with family members and friends
- Allow your emotions to rule your decisions
Talk to Your Future Spouse
Communication is one of the keys to successfully putting together a prenuptial agreement with your future spouse. You and your spouse need to discuss the terms that should be included in the agreement. Both parties want the same thing. They want to be able to walk away from the marriage without losing their separate property and assets. They also don’t want to be destitute after a divorce.
You and your spouse have to be honest about what you don’t want to lose in a divorce.
Why You Need to Have an Attorney
It is possible for you to come up with a prenuptial agreement on your own. However, it is best for you to hire an attorney to help you. The courts tend to scrutinize prenuptial agreements carefully. They may determine that your prenuptial agreement is null and void.
Your attorney will make sure that your prenuptial agreement can actually be enforced. They will also make sure that it is fair to both parties. Additionally, it is important for both parties to have independent legal advice. You can protect your best interests by hiring an attorney.
Can adultery become an issue if the divorce is overturned?
An overturned divorce is a complicated situation, especially if you’ve moved on with your life and you’re in a relationship with someone new. If you’re with someone new and a previous divorce gets overturned, then adultery could become an issue. Here’s what you need to know if you find yourself in this situation.
Why a Divorce Would Be Overturned
It’s uncommon for a court to overturn a divorce, but there are situations where it can happen. The most likely reason for an overturned divorce is that one party alleges that the correct divorce procedure wasn’t followed, and therefore, the divorce should not be valid.
For example, if your process server couldn’t find your spouse and instead you needed to opt for substitute service, your now ex-spouse could petition to overturn the divorce based on not being served correctly. They may not succeed, but it’s a possibility.
When a divorce is overturned, you revert to being married to your spouse. Either of you can file for divorce at this point.
Fault and No-Fault Divorces
When you get divorced, your two options are a fault divorce and a no-fault divorce. Fault divorces were once the primary type of divorce throughout the United States, but these could be expensive and take a long time to complete. No-fault divorce has become far more common in recent years.
Not every state has fault divorces available anymore, but they all have no-fault divorces. New York was the last state to allow no-fault divorces, and it now has both options available.
With a fault divorce, you’re alleging that the divorce was due to some action on your spouse’s part, such as abandonment or adultery. With a no-fault divorce, there’s no allegation of fault. The most common grounds for no-fault divorce is irreconcilable differences.
Where Adultery Can Come into Play
Herein lies the problem when you’ve moved on with your life, only to have your divorce overturned. Let’s say that you’re dating someone new when your spouse gets the divorce overturned. Since the two of you are now married again, if you continue dating that new person, you are technically committing adultery.
At that point, your spouse could file for divorce and allege that you are at fault because you committed adultery. Although this doesn’t always affect the division of assets in a divorce, there is the possibility that you receive a less favorable agreement, such as a smaller amount of spousal support or no spousal support at all, if you’re found to be at fault.
How to Handle an Overturned Divorce When You’re Dating Someone
Since this is a tricky situation, your best bet is to talk to an experienced divorce lawyer about what you should do. Your lawyer can help you assess the risks of continuing the relationship.
If you didn’t want the divorce overturned, you will need to file for a new divorce and should do so as soon as possible. This will start the process of getting your life back to normal.
When it comes to your new relationship, if you wish to minimize your risk, you should immediately stop communicating with your new partner until after you are divorced again. Many people understandably don’t like hearing this, but it’s the safest option to avoid having a spouse allege that you committed adultery.
Now, this doesn’t mean that a court would find you at fault if you continued the relationship, because the burden of proof for your adultery would be on your spouse. They would need evidence of the relationship to present to the court. You could conceivably continue the relationship with no repercussions. It’s simply a matter of whether your spouse wants you found at fault for the divorce and how far they’re willing to go to collect evidence against you.
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