Do You Need a Prenuptial Agreement?
The reason why prenuptial agreements are more common in second and third marriages is because people have had more of a chance to accumulate wealth or property the later in life they are. However, people who are young and getting married for the first time who don’t have any property or wealth may still find a lot of benefits from signing a prenuptial agreement. Therefore, before anyone who’s getting married decides that this is not something that they need, they should find out everything about what a prenuptial agreement is, and how it can protect them.
People should consider a prenuptial agreement as a contract that is going to help them divorce amicably if the unthinkable were to happen in their life. This can help them create the terms of their divorce while they are still in love with each other. This can specify what happens to the wealth or the properties that each person has brought into the relationship. It can also specify what happens to wealth or property that is accumulated during the marriage. And it can even include information such as child support, custody agreements, and alimony payments. Prenuptial agreements can be extremely specific, and even have Clauses that are outlines if specific behaviour was observed during the marriage. Therefore, people without wealth or property may find it very beneficial to come up with the terms of their divorce ahead of time, and save themselves an expensive and emotional divorce.
One of the most important things that people need to take into consideration is no matter how long a couple remains married, at no point does the prenuptial agreement become void. Some people are led to believe that their prenuptial agreement is going to be void after 10 or 20 or even 50 years of marriage. However, the only time the prenuptial agreement will no longer be valid is when it is enacted because a couple has divorced. Or once a couple has taken steps to terminate the contract. People can however modify or revise the prenuptial agreements anytime they choose. They may decides that every year or two they get together and review it and see if it’s still valid. Or they might decide to make amendments as triggered by certain events such as birth of children, the purchase of assets for example. Once they’ve made amendments, they must go through the same legal channels to ensure that the prenuptial agreement is legally binding, and there’s no limit of times that’s people can revise their prenuptial agreements.
Prenuptial agreements can be very emotional to talk about, which is why they recommend couples discussing it even before they start talking about marriage. If they are both on the same page, it can be significant in helping draft the agreements. If people are not on the same page, it may make it too difficult for them to reach a consensus about the contract. And that might cause someone to not want to sign an agreement at all. Since nobody can force another person to sign that agreement, they will need to make the decision whether or I want to continue with the wedding, knowing that their spouse is not going to agree to the prenuptial agreement.
Why a Prenuptial Agreement?
when people are getting married, they should already have discussed whether they want a prenuptial agreement or not. The reason why it is becoming more and more common place to have prenuptial agreements, is because the divorce rates in Canada is rising. 40% of first-time marriages end in divorce in Canada, and 38% of second and third marriages end in divorce as well. This means that there are a significant amount of people who never thought that they would ever have to negotiate the terms of their divorce having to do so. Ultimately, a prenuptial agreement is the terms of a divorce, as negotiated while still in love with each other. This can help save costly legal bills, from helping people avoid litigating in quartz to come to the terms of their divorce. And it can also help a lot of Heartache as well.
Ultimately, prenuptial agreements can specify how the wealth and property is going to be splits if the couple divorces. That they can make decisions like splitting everything fifty-fifty. But most commonly, prenuptial agreements are used to protect the assets and the wealth that people brought into the relationship. a lot of people have accumulated a lot of wealth or property later in life, making prenuptial agreements fairly commonplace for second and third marriages. But, there is no right or wrong way to draft up an agreement.
people should talk about it, and when they agree, they should start creating the document anywhere between six to nine months before their wedding day. This can ensure that everyone will have enough time to talk to their independence lawyers, make amendments to the agreement and come up with a final contract that they both agree with. Doing this well in advance is very important to help ensure that people aren’t trying to create their agreement while planning their wedding. This might end up causing undue stress, and if a contract is signed when someone is under stress, it could be considered not legally binding.
Ultimately, people need to ensure that they are exchanging all of their assets and wealth with each other before they get married. And creating a prenuptial agreement will ensure this happens. They need to bring a detailed account of all of their assets and liabilities to the lawyer, as well as supporting documentation including tax returns for the last two or three years, and all T4 and T5 for all income they may be earning.
When people realize that our prenuptial agreement is a mutually beneficial contract that is going to protect everybody in the circumstance of a divorce, they may be more agreeable. That it can be a Kinder way to end a marriage, because it is going to avoid a costly legal battle, that can end up in significant hurt feelings. People should consider signing a prenuptial agreement if they want to ensure that they can divorce amicably.
Early in her legal practice, influenced by her late uncle who was a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench, Marla Miller, K.C. became a Family Law Mediator. She has been helping families through mediation for over 30 years. In 2001 she, along with Pierre Boileau, K.C. and others, was one of the founding members of the Association of Collaborative Professionals (Edmonton). She has been an active volunteer with that Association ever since.
One of the first Family and Divorce Lawyers in Edmonton to make a commitment to give up litigation as an option, Marla remains passionate about helping her clients settle outside of court by finding agreements that meet their needs and interests. As both a Registered Collaborative Family Lawyer and a Registered Family Mediator, Marla is one of the most experienced family Mediators in Edmonton.