Establishing Postnuptial Agreements

Planning for the Future

A postnuptial agreement or “postnup” is very similar to a prenuptial agreement in that its purpose is to protect the individual and joint assets of either spouse in the event of a divorce or death. These legal documents are used to define the title of property acquired during the marriage so there is no confusion or quarrel.

In order for a postnuptial agreement to be seen as legally valid, you must be completely honest and truthful when listing out all of your assets and debts and the agreement must be fair to each spouse. If the contract was drafted under coercion and force and was not implemented willing by one of the spouses, then it could be seen as invalid.

The laws regarding what is considered marital property and non-marital property are quite involved and certain assets can end up being lost in a divorce even though one spouse expects they would legally belong to them. These laws can be quite inflexible yet do provide for the preventative measure of a written agreement to determine the ownership of certain assets.

Having a postnuptial agreement can be a very helpful asset that you can use to protect you and your children and the assets that matter most. In the event of a contested divorce, this could save you from having to spend money on costly litigation.

When you need assistance from a legal representative who is both highly skilled as well as sensitive to the issues you are addressing, I, Attorney Karenko, can help. My thorough knowledge of the legal intricacies of financial matters of a divorce allows me to provide effective service. Not only can I help draft a postnuptial agreement, I can also review them to ensure your rights are protected before you sign one.

Reduce the Friction Between You & Your Spouse

Postnuptial agreements are valuable if your financial status changes at all during the marriage and one has received an inheritance, had a significant increase in income, started a business, and especially if you have decided to separate. As Texas does not allow for legal separations, a postnuptial agreement can provide guidance regarding financial agreements in the event of a separation.

It can encompass both assets and liabilities and in the event of divorce, form the basis of the settlement. A postnuptial agreement is a contract between spouses that can actually strengthen the relationship and ease any tension they may have had on the subject of assets and property.

This can thus save the couple tremendous amounts of time, money and upset later on. Even without an imminent separation, a post-nuptial agreement can help to reduce friction between couples if there is tension regarding their finances, shared or otherwise.