People who are going through a divorce must split the marital assets. But some might simplify the process ahead of time by having a prenuptial agreement in place. If you do have one, you should review it if the marriage falters. This gives you time to fully understand the consequences if you do divorce.
There are several benefits of a prenuptial agreement. First, you can assign premarital assets to one party. This is helpful if there are any assets owned by one spouse prior to the marriage.
The prenuptial agreement can also ensure that one spouse won’t be responsible for the other person’s debts if they divorce. This is important if either party has considerable debt, including student loans. If there isn’t a prenuptial agreement in place, the division of debts might lead to disagreements about who will pay for what.
Couples with prenuptial agreements will likely spend less time and money on the divorce. They won’t have as much to fight over and can just follow the terms of their agreement. The court will still review the prenuptial agreement to ensure that it isn’t one-sided and that it meets the state’s requirements.
If you didn’t sign a prenuptial agreement before you got married, you might be able to enter into a postnuptial agreement. This document can be signed at any point after the marriage up until the couple decides to file for a divorce. The alternative is that you will go through the property division process to split up assets and debts. Then, the court will determine the ownership of the marital property instead of the spouses.