Did You Know That the State Wrote a Prenuptial Agreement for You Before You Got Married?

With a well-drafted marital agreement, more assets might be protected from being spent down on nursing home care for the surviving spouse. Also, concerns about children from a previous marriage being disinherited, or other family inheritance concerns might be addressed.

Both parties to the marriage may be financially self-sufficient and may have brought substantial assets into the marriage. Other times one person of the couple may have brought dramatically more resources into the marriage. Either way, a marital agreement could be needed in order to increase the chance that the assets will go according to the original owner spouse’s wishes or protect the surviving spouse, after the death of the first spouse.

Most people have heard of examples where a family member or a whole side of a family was disinherited due to poor planning or no planning. Marital agreements are one way to reduce the chance of that happening.

There are formal requirements necessary to make a Marital Agreement hold up against a challenge by parties that may want to break the agreement. Among those formalities is the need for each side to have their own separate legal counsel. Another step is to have full and adequate disclosure of the financial position of each side prior to entering into the agreement. It is also highly recommended if it is a premarital agreement to negotiate and execute the agreement well before the marriage occurs if at all possible. If it is a postnuptial agreement, there might not be as much time pressure, except that of course we do not know the future, and plans are best made prior to any crisis and of course prior to death.

Remember that being able to consult with your attorney to address legal concerns is considered an essential business or service. Do not let anyone tell you that you are not allowed to see an attorney before you make a legal decision. For your Estate Planning and Elder Law needs, contact our Asheville office at 828-258-0994, or to make an appointment with our Hendersonville office call 828-696-1811. You can find out more about us on our web site at www.strausslaw.com.