Most Californians who are planning to marry do not want to think about the potential that the relationship will end. However, many marriages end in divorce, which makes it important to take steps to protect yourself. A prenuptial agreement is a good way to protect your assets and children from a previous relationship in case you end up divorcing. Prenuptial agreements can also make the property division in a future divorce easier if your marriage ends. Here are some benefits of creating a prenuptial agreement.
Protect children from previous relationships
If you have children from a previous relationship, creating a prenuptial agreement can help to protect their rights to an inheritance. A prenuptial agreement can prevent your spouse from receiving an unfair allocation of the wealth you have built so that your estate will not be disturbed.
Protect your assets and prevent you from assuming debts
The assets you have before your marriage are your separate property. However, they can lose their separate nature during your marriage if they become commingled with your marital assets. A prenuptial agreement can offer the following asset and debt benefits:
• Determine how assets will be divided in a divorce
• Prevent a business from being divided in a divorce
• Ensure that each spouse will only be responsible for their respective debts in a divorce
• Preserve the separate nature of a home owned before your marriage that you and your spouse will live in
• Address spousal support
While it might seem difficult to have a conversation about your desire to get a prenuptial agreement with your fiance, doing so might be important if you have built assets before your marriage, have a successful business, have children from a previous relationship, or are debt-free while your fiance has substantial debts. A prenuptial agreement can help to clearly define how your property will be divided in case you get divorced, helping to make the divorce process smoother and more amicable.