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Marriage agreements do not have to happen prior to marriage

On Behalf of | Aug 1, 2018 | Marital Agreements |

It is a common misconception that a marital agreement must occur prior to a wedding. While a pre-nuptial agreement is designed for that purpose, there are other types of agreements that may be executed while married. They are commonly referred to as mid-marriage or post-nuptial agreements. A recent article explains how a post-nuptial agreement can even save a marriage.

Many unforeseen situations can occur in the lives of a married couple. Sometimes, one spouse chooses to protect their interests financially, either in preparation for the future or for protection in the present.

Take this scenario, for example. A man enters a second marriage as the father of two children from his first marriage. He has been married to his second wife for a few years when he receives an unexpected large financial windfall. Since his current wife is not the mother of his children, he would like to protect their interests in the money. For this reason, he chooses to hire an attorney to draft a mid-marriage agreement stating that his current spouse will be legally responsible for making sure the children get their fair share. This gives the children grounds for legal pursuit of their interests should the current spouse not follow through with her promise.

Other situations in which a mid-marriage agreement could be beneficial is when one spouse needs to protect assets in a financially unstable marriage, or they need to provide clear guidelines on asset distribution in case of a divorce. In any situation where one or both spouses feel the need for additional legal protection, a family law attorney can provide guidance on getting the proper agreement in place.

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