Throughout the United States, the average age of an adult getting married has steadily increased. Adults are focusing on obtaining a higher education, establishing their career, and becoming financially stable prior to getting married. Once a relationship begins leading toward marriage, a person who has a financially lucrative career or a profitable business may want to protect his or her assets. Regardless of how much a couple loves each other at the time of their marriage, there is still a reasonable chance that the marriage will end in divorce. Creating a prenuptial agreement gives you an opportunity to protect the property and assets you bring into the marriage while starting your married life with full financial transparency. Using a prenuptial agreement checklist will help you prepare for your first meeting with an attorney by identifying what things that you want to be sure to discuss.
Separating Debt
The average adult creates a prenuptial agreement primarily to protect financial assets, but existing debt must also be taken into account. If you are marrying a person who owes a substantial amount of debt, keeping yourself legally separated from that debt is in your best interest. Failing to discuss debts or include them in a prenuptial agreement creates the risk of you being held responsible for paying half of those debts after getting divorced. When you are marrying a person who owns a business or has a higher amount of debt than you, protecting your credit if a divorce occurs is something that you should discuss with your lawyer.
Workforce Absence
In a marriage between two career-oriented adults who plan to have children, creating a plan for extended workforce absences is recommended. A spouse who decides to leave the workforce in order to raise minor children until they are able to attend school ultimately places his or her career on hold. The years spent away from career building impact earning potential and place that spouse at a disadvantage in the event of a divorce. A prenuptial agreement can include compensation for the time that was spent raising children instead of furthering a career.
Financial Strategies
Issues involving money and finances play a large role in divorce. One way to try and prevent issues from occurring is to include money management strategies in your agreement. Determining how to save money and deciding how you will spend money as a couple can prevent some future arguments. It is also possible to include which spouse is responsible for paying each household related financial obligation.
Discussing Your Checklist with an Attorney
If you or someone close to you has created a prenuptial agreement checklist it is a good idea to visit a qualified prenuptial agreement attorney prior to drafting an agreement. An attorney can explain to you what items can be included in the agreement and provide you with advice regarding correctly executing a valid agreement. The attorneys at Vayman & Teitelbaum realize that prenuptial agreements are a difficult subject to broach with a future spouse even though having one will give you peace of mind. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at one of our Atlanta offices so that we can further discuss your unique needs.