It’s a bit trickier to protect
assets accumulated after the
wedding. If you buy a home to-
gether, or she helps with mort-
gage payments on a home you
owned prior to the marriage,
she’ll have the right to claim
her contribution to the asset’s
value (including appreciation)
if you get divorced. Typically, a
spouse is entitled to half the
value of any asset to which she
makes a monetary contribution
– all the more reason to protect
everything you owned prior to
tying the knot.
Still, a pre-nup still can
protect assets you accumulate
during the marriage (including ations, since it prevents a wife from using children as
a weapon to garner a larger pay out. Further, an agree-
ment restricting alimony payments can prevent a wife
who becomes bored with a marriage from walking away
without giving serious thought to the creature comforts
she’ll be giving up.
your salary and resulting sav-
ings or investments) by pre-es-
tablishing the amount of ali-
mony or spousal support you
would owe in the event of a di-
vorce. In cases where a spouse
has a career of her own, or en-
ters the marriage with signifi-
cant assets, a pre-nup can even
be used to eliminate alimony or
support obligations altogether. property, how long assets are frozen during and after a
divorce (or death), and how ownership of what lawyers
call the “matrimonial home” is treated.
Using a real lawyer, with whom you can sit down and
spell out your situation, ensures you’ll get a pre-nup
that’s drafted consistently with both federal and state
laws. Such consultations generally cost less than $1,000
– or a tenth what your bride-to-be is planning to spend
on her dress. It’s worth every penny.
If you own more than one property, have made smart
investments, or own a business that you intend to ei-
ther sell or pass down to heirs, then the total value of
your assets can be measured in millions. Do you really
want to trust all that wealth to a form you find online?
What you can’t protect
Unfortunately, a prenuptial can’t be used to guarantee
you custody or visitation rights with any children born
during the marriage. Issues related to custody, and ac-
cess to children, are considered circumstantial and are
dealt with during the course of divorce proceedings.
An agreement pre-setting alimony and spousal sup-
port sums, however, can simplify custody negoti-
A PRENUPTIAL
AGREEMENT IS KEY TO
ENSURING YOU DON’T
LOSE HALF OF YOUR
ASSETS IN A DIVORCE...
H O T
RUS S I AN
BRI D E S®
-
Hire a real lawyer
If you plug “prenuptial agreement” into a search engine,
the first 20 or so links will be to forms you can down-
load, fill in, sign, and have signed by your prospective
spouse prior to the wedding day.
Don’t use them
Just like the kit wills you can purchase at office supply
stores, online pre-nup forms won’t always stand up in
court. While the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act pro-
vides the bulwark of property division laws in the U.S.,
many states have their own quirks regarding division of
Getting the signature
I’ll admit, asking a prospective spouse to sign a prenup-
tial agreement can be stressful. My own wife looked
askance at me when I raised the issue 20 years ago
(although I had the advantage in spinning it as a way
for her to protect her own assets, since she owned her
home).
It won’t be a comfortable conversation; and it will likely
lead to one or two fights. But few couples are made up
of two people who are economically matched on the
day of their marriage, or remain that way throughout
the life of the marriage.
If you approach this difficult conversation the right
way, she’ll sign that prenuptial.
Or, if she won’t, at least you’ll know she’s not marrying
you for love.
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