Understanding how prenups and postnups differ

Couples in New Jersey might consider marital agreements as they plan or continue in a marriage. In the past, these types of agreements were seen as something only very wealthy or famous people needed. However, they are becoming more common as people enter marriage with more assets and as they look towards protecting their assets if the marriage does end.

The benefits of marital agreements

Marital agreements provide couples with a variety of benefits, whether they were negotiated before the marriage took place or sometime after the couple was already married. These benefits include:

• Establishing clear ways to handle different types of property if the marriage ends due to divorce or even death
• Providing an option for less costly and less time-consuming divorce
• Helping the couple enter or continue the marriage with peace of mind about financial matters in case the marriage ends

The similarities and differences between prenups and postnups

Prenups and postnups are very similar in how and why they are created. Both types of agreements establish how a couple’s assets will be divided if the marriage ends. They also address how financial benefits will be distributed if one of the spouses dies. Before creating a marital agreement, both parties must be fully willing to enter into the agreement and they both must fully disclose all aspects of their finances.

The main difference between the two types of marital agreements is that a prenup is created before the couple marries and a postnup can be created any time after the marriage begins. Another difference that couples will need to contend with is that when a postnup is created, there is often, already, marital property to be discussed so they must establish how that property will be treated and divided in case of a divorce or death.