Prenuptial Pros and Cons

Dating in the modern age can be difficult, but marriages still occur every summer and fall without fail. Say you’ve met the love of your life. You’ve gone out for coffee, drinks, dinners; you’ve gone out and met each other friends and families; you decided to have lazy nights and stay in and order a pizza; you went on a vacation, or a few, and think about how happy you are together. A ring was bought, the question was popped, “she said yes!” A lifetime of happiness waits ahead for you and you want to celebrate and plan for the future. What’s the first thing you think of?

Is it a prenuptial agreement? Nothing quite sets the mood like a prenup, putting a halt to all romance for who-knows-how-long. A prenup, as a comedian once quipped, is a great way to say “I love you, but I don’t trust you.” While discussing who-gets-what in a property and asset split in the unfortunate result of a divorce takes all of the love from the air, it is nevertheless an important conversation to have. You don’t want to think that things may end in heartbreak when you’ve just agreed to be married, but divorce is a very real possibility in today’s romantic world and neither party involved wants to see things unfairly distributed and feel cheated. You deserve what you deserve at the end of a divorce and a prenup is a great way to ensure you don’t lose out.

Most states have laws in place that accomplish the main objective of a prenuptial agreement, so obtaining and signing one may be a redundancy. However, if you and your spouse are from two disparate economic backgrounds and the split of assets would not be 50:50, contacting a Colorado Springs family law attorney to assist is advised. Note that child custody cannot be arranged in a prenup and that it is up to the courts to decide.

So a possibly redundant mood killer — what are the benefits of a prenup? For one, you can save yourselves time, money, and headaches in divorce negotiations and proceedings. Fees and costs add up as you end a marriage and a prenup can clear the big issues early on. Additionally, keeping the items and assets you’d want to walk away with separate early on — and not bickering over who gets what, especially if it holds particular sentimental value — can reduce the pains and strains down the road.

Along with assets, property and debt can be negotiated in a prenuptial agreement to save the courts time determining what equals a 50:50 split between soon-to-be-ex-spouses. Not everyone has outstanding credit; maybe one spouse has an amazing score and the other is rebuilding their credit line. By agreeing early that the debt should not be split evenly in the result of a divorce, saves one party’s credit from dropping substantially and easing the difficulties of life after separation.

Ultimately, it is best to contact a Colorado Springs family law attorney to decide if a prenuptial agreement is right for your upcoming marriage. Everyone has rose colored glasses with a wedding on the horizon and can only see happy times in the future, but marriage is an investment and requires work and maintenance. Some couples cannot handle those conditions and will sadly find themselves filing for divorce; in these cases, it is always better to be legally protected. If you or a loved one are set to be wed, contact our offices to discuss if a prenup is advised and how we can assist you before the big day.