Antenuptial Agreements (aka PreNups, Prenuptial agreements)
An antenuptial agreement is a contract that is entered into by persons who are about to be married. It establishes what you own at the time of your marriage and alters the outcome of a property distribution in the event of a divorce. Antenuptial agreements are often used by people who have been previously married, have family run businesses, and/or have significant assets.
Some of the Basics:
- Antenuptial agreements can address the division of real property, an ownership stake in a business, inheritances, division of personal property, and spousal support.
- Child custody and child support cannot be part of a final antenuptial agreement.
- When entering into an antenuptial agreement you want to make sure that there is full disclosure of both your and your spouse’s assets and liabilities. If it is determined that you or your spouse did not provide full disclosure a court will likely consider the antenuptial agreement invalid.
- The terms of the antenuptial agreement should be “fair” and not heavily one-sided.
- Both you and your spouse must sign the final agreement voluntarily.
- There are limited instances when a court in Ohio would find that an antenuptial agreement is not valid.
At the end of the day, it is important that you and your spouse enter into an antenuptial agreement freely and voluntarily; further, that you both understand what it is that you’re signing. The attorneys at The Nickolls Law Firm LLC can guide you through this process.
