I Don’t Have Many Assets – Should I Still Get a Prenup?
- Posted on: Jun 15 2019
If you don’t have a lot of assets, you may think that getting a prenuptial agreement isn’t worth it. After all, what would your spouse get if you were to divorce? Half of nothing is nothing, after all. But there are a number of reasons to get a prenup, and they’re not all related to the assets you have on hand right now.
Prenups Are More than Assets—They’re Also About Debts
If you get divorced, you’ll do more than split assets, you’ll also have to split any communal debts. If your spouse went back to college and took out a number of student loans, you could potentially be stuck with being responsible for some of that debt. A prenup can be used to define how future incurred debt will be split. It can protect you from being stuck with debt that your spouse accrued. Any debt brought into the marriage, of course, is usually considered separate property, so you can’t use a prenup to unload any of the current debt you have.
It Makes the Divorce Process More Controlled
If you go through a divorce and you and your spouse can’t agree on things, the court steps in and decides for you. This usually means neither party gets what they want, and you both leave unhappy. With a prenup, you maintain more control over how your assets and debts are split. This can be a very good thing, especially if you decide how everything will be done now while you’re happily engaged. If the relationship goes sour and you start hating each other, you won’t exactly be thinking clearly. Discuss how things will be handled now so you won’t have to fight over it later.
Got a Prenup that Doesn’t Cover Everything?
Did you get a fairly basic prenup but now realize it doesn’t exactly cover everything? For example, maybe the book you self-published attracted the attention of a large publisher and is now making you a decent amount of money. Maybe your small investments have grown substantially. No matter what has happened, your prenup isn’t written in stone. You can actually change your prenup if both of you agree to it. You can also cancel the entire thing or even create what’s called a postnup, a type of agreement written after you were married. Both of you have to agree to any changes, though. One person cannot alter the agreement.
Need help writing your prenup? Contact the FK Law Group today to schedule an appointment.
Posted in: Divorce Law, Prenuptial Agreements, Uncategorized
