The desire to protect yourself is built into the human mind, so it shouldn’t be any surprise that this occurs even when you are going to get married. You will naturally hope that the marriage will last forever, but you also know that you need to protect yourself in case it doesn’t. One way that you can do this through a prenuptial agreement in New Jersey.
This agreement is made between you and your future spouse. It contains information about various aspects of the marital finances and what is going to happen if the union ends before the death of one spouse. You should consider the terms of this carefully to ensure that it is set up appropriately.
You need ample time
You need ample time to consider the terms of the prenuptial agreement and your future spouse must be given the same consideration. Waiting until too close to the wedding could mean that the entire prenuptial agreement is considered invalid. Not only do both parties need time to look at what the agreement entails, they also need time to have their attorney review it to ensure that signing is in their best interests.
It must be fair
The prenuptial agreement can’t overly favor either party. This means that everything can’t be given to one spouse while the other one is left desolate. One party might have considerable assets coming into the marriage. Because assets obtained before the marriage are usually considered separate property, these can safely be included in the prenuptial agreement even if it makes it seem unbalanced.
Both parties must disclose their worth
Both parties must give a full disclosure of their worth. Even if it is easy to look up each party’s worth, having it in the agreement helps to ensure that the agreement can be enforced if the marriage does break up. Another thing that should be included is any expected inheritance.
Other agreements
While it is possible to include spousal support in the prenuptial agreement, you can’t put child custody or child support information in the prenup. The points pertaining to children can’t be included because the court must make decisions based on what is best for the kids at that specific time. There is no way for the partners to know ahead of time what this will be.
Always review premarital agreements carefully. Don’t assume that your future spouse will think that you are dooming the marriage because you ask for a prenup. Remember to look at this as a document that can help both parties.
