A prenuptial agreement is a contract between you and your future spouse before marriage. In a prenuptial agreement, you and your spouse disclose all money and property you owned before marriage. You then outline the rights and responsibilities you each want during the marriage, including how you will divide money and property in the event of a divorce or the death of one or both of you.
Although New York law already dictates how property is distributed when a marriage ends in divorce or death, courts will recognize a valid prenuptial agreement that may differ from how New York law divides the property. A prenuptial agreement takes control of your property and assets from the state and places the responsibility on you and your spouse.
A prenuptial agreement is valid and enforceable as long as it protects you and your spouse as long as both you and your spouse have fully and honestly disclosed all assets. The agreement must also be fully formalized by being signed and recognized, as is necessary for a property deed to be recorded. For your free consultation, speak with an expert prenuptial lawyer in Nassau County today.
In a prenup, you can specify the separate assets of each spouse and you can specify the items you want to consider as marital assets, even if they are technically separate assets.
Separate lawyers: If you sign a prenuptial agreement, you and your spouse must have different legal representation. If you do not have a lawyer, the court will examine whether your marriage is unfair and may order a divorce.
Fraud: A court cannot uphold a prenuptial agreement if you or your spouse knowingly withheld or hid assets.
Coercion/Duress: A court may not enforce a prenuptial agreement if you or your spouse puts undue pressure on them to sign it or doesn’t give the other person enough time to think about it. A court cannot enforce a prenuptial agreement if it is unfair or unfairly favors you or your spouse, such as leaving the other party out.