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Experts say that although couples can sign prenuptial agreements before they get married and “post-marital” afterwards, it’s not just the timing that makes the difference between the agreements. this agreement.
“It’s a whole different ball game after you’re married,” says Martin Shenkman, a real estate attorney for Shenkman Law in New York City.
“With premarital preparation, you have no obligations to your spouse,” he explains. “Once married, once you are married, you have legal and fiduciary duties to your spouse.”
Shenkman stresses that it’s important to check what your state law allows.
When a post-nup can be called for
What situations can lead a couple to prepare a post-marital agreement?
Married couples, for example, may need to amend the prenuptial agreement they signed, according to certified attorney and financial planner Keith Singer, president of Singer Wealth in Boca Raton, Florida. “They want to secure new terms based on things that have happened in your life,” he said.
Changes in marital dynamics can cause a change in the terms of the prenuptial. For example, couples may not anticipate that one of the partners begins to earn significantly more money than the other, or that as the marriage grows stronger over time, the trust between the partners increases. bigger, says Singer.
Post-marriage can also happen when a couple is contemplating divorce but still trying to work things out. Follow Centers for Disease Control and Preventionin 10 years up to 43% of first marriages may fail.
“Because of earlier divorce [rather] A later date may be more favorable to either spouse, whose agreement may provide that the marriage ends on the date of the marriage for the purposes of calculating alimony and dividing property, if efforts failed marriage repair,” Singer said.
Sometimes a post-nuptial marriage is required to replace some state laws that allow one spouse to leave the other for less than what their state requires.
“Many people don’t know that once they get married, state law gives their spouse a minimum percentage of their assets, even if the deceased spouse tries to leave it to them,” says Singer. others. An example of that is a person in a second marriage who intends to leave all of their assets to their children from a previous marriage.
How various experts help with post-nup
- Marriage lawyer: Know state laws and draft agreements
- Real estate attorneys: make sure the plan matches the couple’s estate documents, especially for trusts
- Financial Advisor: help the couple with budgeting and financial forecasting, dealing with capital gains, determining which assets should be set aside and how the accounts should be divided, etc.
- insurance operations: help couples choose coverage to meet their plan’s needs
— Martin Shenkman, Shenkman Law real estate attorney in New York City
CFP Crystal Cox, senior vice president of Wealthspire in Madison, Wisconsin, said there can also be external forces, such as a change in future wealth, causing post-marriage.
For example, in the case of an inheritance, an heir — or a relative who leaves the property — can request a postponement of the divorce so that the property will go to their family and not be included in any marriage. Divorce negotiations are possible. Cox says a financial advisor can help by setting up an account for an heir.
“It’s a lot easier to do that when you still have faith in the marriage,” she says.
‘A path of communication’
Not all post-nups need to be legal documents. Lili Vasileff, CFP, certified divorce financial analyst and president of Wealth Protection Management in Greenwich, Connecticut, is a marriage mediator who prepares post-nuptial agreements that are memorandums of understanding. private.
“The preparation of these agreements opens up an avenue of communication,” she said. “They don’t always lead to divorce, but they do give couples more time to deal with financial issues.”
There are generally two types of parties working with Vasileff. The first are mature-minded spouses who need better communication about finances, especially later in life.
The second category includes spouses who need a way to atone for marital mistakes. Post-marriage can be for the purpose of correcting financial mistakes, rebuilding relationships, and showing goodwill.
Or the agreement could outline how the couple can stay married but financially separate and become independent from the other’s financial activities.
“It’s a process that requires time, energy and involvement… and is instrumental in learning more about each other,” says Vasileff. “[Post-nups] There has been more demand lately than in previous years.
“They are less emotional than unmarried people, which is a condition for marriage.”
