Pre-Marital Agreements

A Pre-Marital Agreement, sometimes referred to as a Prenuptial Agreement, is an agreement between prospective spouses who are contemplating marriage. Pre-Marital Agreements usually address issues of spousal support and the disposition of premarital and postmarital property in the event of divorce.

In order to create a valid agreement, each party must:

1. Fully and accurately disclose his or her debts and assets to the other;
2. The parties should be counseled by separate attorneys. They should never use the same lawyer;
3. The agreement may not be "unconscionable" or, in other words, terribly unfair to either party;
4. Both parties must sign the agreement voluntarily, without coercion or undue influence, and preferably well before the actual marriage ceremony.

Interestingly, people who are considering simply living together are also beginning to guard themselves through "cohabitation agreements," the functional equivalent to premarital agreements.