Marital agreements such as prenuptial or postnuptial agreements are analogous to insurance policies as they create peace of mind. No longer a contract exclusive to the affluent, obtaining a marital agreement is now a prevailing exercise of due diligence for couples of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Negotiating a marital agreement can sometimes be a contentious and uncomfortable transaction between a couple. With divorce nearing 40 percent, a marital agreement is a practical and beneficial step to alleviate the possibility of future disputes or hefty legal fees in the event of divorce. Even though you may not anticipate a divorce, a divorce attorney can draft a meticulous marital agreement tailored to your needs. 

Five Reasons to Negotiate and Sign a Prenuptial Agreement 

A prenuptial agreement is a legally binding contract intended to protect each spouse's assets and property rights in the event of divorce. If a contesting party can prove coercion, the court may deem the terms of the contract to be unenforceable. For instance, if a spouse pressured the other to sign a prenuptial agreement without their review and shortly before the wedding, that may be considered coercion. Therefore, it is wise to execute the agreement carefully and identify and detail each couple’s assets and debts with full transparency. The many reasons to attain a prenuptial agreement can include the following:

1. Akin to a promissory note, this agreement can protect both current and future assets.

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When you finally get engaged to the person of your dreams, it can feel like you are living in a fairytale. The last thing you would want to think about is what would happen if you and your spouse were to call it quits, but the time during your engagement is the perfect time to do just that. Many spouses come to the conclusion that a prenuptial agreement is a good and fair option to allow both spouses to protect their assets coming into the marriage. While a prenuptial agreement will not eliminate conflict from a divorce entirely, it can greatly reduce the amount of tension and disagreement surrounding certain issues. Here are a few reasons why you should consider getting a prenuptial agreement before you get married:

1. You Can Designate How Specific Assets Will Be Handled

The main and most basic feature of a prenuptial agreement is your ability to state how you want your assets and debts to be distributed during your divorce. If you and your spouse take your divorce to court, the judge is going to follow Illinois law and use the factors outlined in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) and distribute your assets and debts in an “equitable manner.” In your prenuptial agreement, you can choose how you want to distribute your debts and assets. You can also clearly state which property is marital property and which property is nonmarital property and not subject to division.

2. You Can Protect Your Business

If you own a business before you get married, getting a prenuptial agreement can be extremely beneficial. While Illinois law states that your business would be considered nonmarital property if you owned it prior to the marriage, any profit you make from the business, or income you earn from the business and contribute to the household becomes marital property. A prenuptial agreement can ensure your business and its growth are protected from the asset division process.

When you tell people that you and your spouse have signed a prenuptial agreement, some may react with surprise. There are many benefits to getting a prenuptial agreement before you are married, but some people still feel a negative stigma against such documents. Although you may not have imagined your marriage would end in divorce when you were drafting the prenuptial agreement, it has now come to that point. Prenuptial agreements usually dictate how certain assets and property are divided in the event of a divorce, among other issues. However, if you no longer think the agreement is fair, can you do anything about it? It is important to know your options for contesting a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement if you find yourself getting divorced. 

Examining Your Prenup

Prenuptial agreements are legally binding documents, but they can be challenged. If you believe that your prenuptial agreement is not valid, you should contact your divorce attorney right away. He or she will be able to bring your concerns to the judge and will be able to help you examine the reasons why it would be unenforceable. Once the issue is brought to the court’s attention, a judge may invalidate specific sections of the agreement or even throw out the entire agreement. Here are a few common reasons why a prenuptial agreement may be found invalid:

As times are changing, so are attitudes toward previously taboo topics, such as signing prenuptial agreements before marriage. Over the years, drafting a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot has become more and more popular. One possible reason for the increase in popularity is that people are waiting until later in life to get married the first time. This means more people are entering into marriage with more assets that they want to protect. Prenuptial agreements must be created carefully, or they run the risk of being invalidated if they are contested during a divorce. Here are a few ways your prenuptial agreement may be found invalid:

1. The Agreement Was Not in the Right Format

In the state of Illinois, prenuptial agreements must be in writing. In other words, you cannot have an oral prenuptial agreement. Both you and your spouse must sign the agreement for it to become valid, and you must file it with the clerk of the circuit court so there is a record of the agreement.

Planning a wedding requires a great deal of organization and patience. You probably have a checklist of items that you need to get done before the big day, which may or may not include finalizing your prenuptial agreement. If you and your fiance have chosen to create and sign a prenuptial agreement, you will soon figure out that it comes with its own checklist of things to consider, which can become overwhelming when you are trying to plan a wedding. Having a solid prenuptial agreement that has examined all of the necessary factors is important to the successful implementation of the agreement in the event that you do get divorced.

Premarital Assets and Debts

Things that you bring into the marriage - whether they are assets or debts - are considered premarital assets and debts and are typically not subject to division during a divorce. In order to safeguard that property, putting it into the prenuptial agreement is a good idea. You can also stipulate what happens to the property if it is used to purchase other things during the marriage.

Marital Property

This is all assets and debts that you and your spouse accumulate during the time you are married. You can choose to either stick with Illinois law, which is to divide the property equitably in the event of a divorce, or you can create your own arrangement. You can go so far as to stipulate what specific items you will keep and what items you will give up.