Far too many couples don’t talk about money prior to marriage. According
to experts, this failure to discuss finances is actually a leading reason
that couples divorce. Talking about a prenuptial agreement forces couples
to explore their financial worlds and look at things like merged accounts,
students loans, debt, and division of property. It may not sound like
fun, but this gives couples the opportunity to plan for a divorce,
just in case it happens. Here are 7 benefits of signing a prenuptial agreement.
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Document your separate property to protect it: You have the ability to document personal property you obtained before
marriage. If you get a divorce, this can protect your property by keeping
it separate in the divorce proceedings.
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Avoid the court from getting involved in property distribution: You can also predetermine who gets what in a divorce to support your estate
plan. This will prevent fights over costly property in the case of a divorce.
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Document jointly held property: Texas is a community property state, which means that property is divided
fairly, but not always equally, because not everything acquired during
a marriage is joint property. You can add something to your prenup to
ensure joint property is divided equally.
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Assign debt: If one person incurred a substantial amount of debt before marriage, only
they should be responsible for it in case of a divorce. Outline these
debts and detail who will pay for them.
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Detail special arrangements: Add any special arrangements in your prenup. For example, you might want
to write down who gets the family dog in the case of seperation.
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Pay less in court fees: If you have a prenup, you are less likely to have an extended court proceeding,
which means less money spent.
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Saves you time and energy in case of divorce: In addition to money, you’ll also save time and energy because you
won’t have to battle it out in court. A drawn-out divorce is not
uncommon, but a prenup can avoid that.
Call (713) 936-2300 or contact us online
to speak to one of our Houston divorce lawyers
at the Law Office of Kathryn Marteeny.