3 Reasons Why You Should Get A Prenuptial Agreement Before You Get Married [INFOGRAPHIC]

By Brandon Leuangpaseuth

Marriage is one of the most significant money agreements you’ll ever jump into. The majority of men and women jump into marriage without any insurance to protect their assets if things do not work out.

A prenuptial agreement is a legal agreement that outlines what happens to all the money and all the assets in the event of a divorce. There is a misconception that prenuptial agreements are only for millionaires and celebrities. This could not be more wrong. A well-crafted prenuptial agreement can benefit just about everyone under different circumstances.

Here are 3 good reasons why you should get a prenuptial agreement.

  1. Provides A Written Roadmap

One of the best things about setting up a prenuptial agreement well before marriage is that you will be setting up negotiations and division of assets while you still love each other, rather than when you are at each other’s throats. Prenuptial agreements gives instructions on how all the assets, debt, wealth will be divided after a divorce or even death.

Most people know that prenuptial agreements are for outlining the splitting of assets, wealth and debt after a divorce. What a lot of people miss about prenuptial agreements is that you can include and dictate certain terms of life after the divorce with lifestyle clauses.

Lifestyle clauses are conditions written into prenuptial agreements which dictate the behavior of one or both partners in a marriage, or outline jointly-made decisions regarding matters such as the upbringing of children, religion, gain of weight and how to deal with in-laws.

  1. Protect Your Business

If you have a running business, it is a wise business move to get a prenuptial agreement. A divorce can harshly cripple your business.  It’s pretty common with business owners to use prenuptial agreements to protect the future of their current businesses or any businesses they might be involved with in the future.

Can you imagine being a partner in a business and suddenly have another partner’s significant other fighting for their share of the business.

Also, if you create a business with your significant other, and then you get a divorce, how will the business be divided up?

A prenuptial agreement will help determine what percentage each person gets and set the terms.

  1. Cuts Down Legal Fees

Since a prenuptial agreement clearly lays out how assets, debt and wealth will be divided, if you do get a divorce, it will need a lot less tension to dividing all the assets. The division of the assets and debt will be handled by the agreement.

If you do not have a prenuptial agreement, you will leave your assets up to the judge to decide how to divide it. A prenuptial agreement helps reduce tension and court intervention in handling problems in regards to the division of wealth.

Because of this, the lawyers and the court don’t have to do as much as they normally would to resolve the case. As a result, it should cut down on legal fees and allow the divorce process to move along at a faster rate.

If you are in a serious relationship with your partner and considering marrying, make sure a prenuptial agreement is included in your planning discussions, even if it is not a romantic topic to talk about.

Here is a helpful infographic provided by Bishop Law Office, P.C. to help you plan an effective prenuptial agreement: