Financial disagreements are one of the most common causes of separation and divorce. If you take the time to enter into a marital agreement with your spouse or fiancé, you may be able to avoid these problems in the future. An Albany marital agreements lawyer could assess your situation and help draft a contract that protects you and your assets.
With the assistance of a family attorney, you could explore the different options ensuring your financial security if a big change in your life occurs. Additionally, a marital contract may allow you to eliminate future costly litigation and unnecessary arguments. Together, you and your attorney could prepare an agreement that genuinely represents your intentions.
Individuals propose prenuptial agreements for various reasons, but the goal of these contracts is typically to protect wealth or assets that exist before marriage. Whether one or both spouses have preexisting property, a prenup may help someone protect:
Prenuptial agreements may protect spouses in various situations. For instance, individuals who have accrued considerable wealth may wish to safeguard those assets if a divorce occurs. Additionally, people whose fiancés have accumulated significant debts may not want to be liable for these loans in a subsequent divorce.
A lawyer in Albany could help negotiate a marital agreement that fully represents an individual’s wishes and resolves financial matters to avoid uncertainty in the future. Executing a prenuptial contract could eliminate unpleasant surprises and conversations in the future while ensuring that both parties are fully aware of their property rights. Legal counsel also could help facilitate the full disclosure of assets between the parties and avoid expensive disputes when a marriage ends.
The only difference between postnuptial and prenuptial agreements is that postnups are signed after the parties are already married. Individuals may enter into these agreements in different situations, such as to:
Both contracts are subject to strict rules under state law. Failure to follow those rules may result in the invalidation of a marital agreement. By consulting a prenuptial and postnuptial agreement lawyer in Albany before entering into a marital contract, individuals may be able to ensure that their agreement meets all legal requirements.
Marital agreements will not be effective if they are not legally valid. Therefore, individuals must avoid situations in which an agreement might prove to be unenforceable. For instance, both parties to the proposed agreement should have individual legal advice about their rights and responsibilities before signing a contract. In Albany, spouses who do not seek independent attorneys risk an invalid marriage agreement.
Similarly, if a court finds that an agreement is unconscionable, puts one spouse at a significant disadvantage, or was executed under duress, the court may invalidate the contract. For example, if one spouse forces or threatens the other to sign a postnup, the court likely will not find it to be legally enforceable.
Most people do not enter a marriage with the intent to divorce in the future. Nonetheless, circumstances may change, and the unexpected can happen. An Albany marital agreements lawyer could help avoid protracted litigation over financial matters if parties decide separate or divorce.
While no agreement can prepare you for every contingency and solve every potential problem, marital agreements could help avoid unnecessary and unwanted battles. Consulting legal counsel may be the most effective way to reach a beneficial and legally valid martial agreement.
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