Understanding Prenuptial Agreements
Many people may have a lot of varying opinions about prenuptial agreements. They may have heard horror stories from friends, or even from celebrities in the media. Sometimes the reputation that that’s prenuptial agreements have is that they are grossly unfair for one party, causing one person that to retain all the well, while the other person that gets nothing. However, this is not necessarily true. In order for a prenuptial agreements to be legally binding, both parties must seek out separate and independent legal advice to determine if the prenuptial agreement is fair for them. Therefore, it’s less likely that prenuptial agreements are fair for one person, it’s typically just one person being upset about the marriage ending.
Before people even think about getting engaged, they should actually talk about whether they both agree in the concept of a prenuptial agreement. The reason why it’s important to talk about ahead of time, is because it is illegal to coerce someone to sign one. Therefore, if one person patently disagrees with prenuptial agreements, there’s going to be very little the other person will be able to do to convince them. In fact, it may cause people to reconsider if they want to marry that person if they refuse to sign a prenuptial agreements. Therefore, they should find this out early in their relationship, rather than after they are already engaged.
When people have agreed that prenuptial agreements are a good idea, and that’s typically when both people are bringing assets or property into the relationships. But when this is the case, they needs to ensure that they are drafting their prenuptial agreement well in advance of the wedding. The last thing anybody wants is for the prenuptial agreement to be going back and forth to lawyers at the same time that they are finalizing wedding plans. Not only can this be an awkward scenario. But it also might add to the stress of the impending wedding. And if this is the case, people might end up signing the prenuptial agreements because they either feel pressured to, in order to get it done for the wedding. Or they might feel like they are under a significant amount of stress because they are planning the wedding. Any contract that is signed under stress or duress may not be legally binding in courts. Therefore this must be avoided at all costs.
Ultimately, a prenuptial agreement is a contract that is going to specify how they divorce should the unthinkable happen. While most people hope that this is never going to happen, 40% of all marriages end in divorce, therefore people needs to plan realistically for what could definitely happen to them. Being prepared is the best way to ensure that they are protected for the future. While prenuptial agreements are most common for people who are entering into their second or third marriage, because they’ve usually accumulated property and wealth later in life. However, people who don’t have any assets or wealth in their portfolio yet may wants to know that they can create a prenuptial agreement, which is going to protect any assets or wealth that they accumulate in the future.
Understanding Prenuptial Agreements
The reason why people should consider a prenuptial agreements is because 40% of all marriages in Canada and in divorce. And 38% of second marriages also end in divorce. That means a significant amount of people who did not think that they would ever have to negotiates their divorce, will have to do so in their lifetime. Therefore, prenuptial agreements can help because these are contracts that are designed to help a couple divorce, by creating the terms of their divorce while they still love each other.
In order to ensure that a prenuptial agreement is legally binding, people must follow strict legal guidelines. The first thing that they need to do, is ensure that each party is getting separate legal advice. They must both retain their own lawyer and that lawyer is going to look over the prenuptial agreement, and consult with their clients and let them know if this is prenuptial agreement that is in their best favour. Once they have determined that it is in their client’s favour, and their they see documentation saying that their client acknowledges what is in the Agreement. Once a client signs the agreement, they also have to certify that they were not under any stress or duress when they signed it. If all of these steps are not followed, the prenuptial agreements can be thrown out in courts. This might happen if a person contest’s the prenuptial agreement because they are upset that the marriage is ending. People want to ensure that all of the work that they put into creating the agreement is not thrown out the window later on.
If a person does not agree to sign a prenuptial agreements, there is nothing that anyone can do about it. That their partner should talk to them to find out why they’re not signing it. Or help them find their own independent, legal advice that they can talk to. Often, the reason people refuse to sign is because they have a misunderstanding about some part of it. Therefore, by getting educated might be enough for them to agree to sign the documents.
Ultimately, people should think of a prenuptial agreement as a way of divorcing if that should ever happen to them. That while most people don’t want to think about a divorce while they are planning to spend the rest of their lives with their significant other. Almost half of all marriages end in divorce, so people should get prepared for the possibility that it will happen, because the odds are that it will.
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.