Writing a prenuptial agreement can be a touchy subject, even the proposition of having one can be enough to cause one of the parties involved in the upcoming marriage to change their mind about the whole thing. As long as both parties agree that it is a good idea however, the process can be made a lot easier with the presence of a lawyer. This may prevent the prenuptial agreement from later being thrown out in court as well as ensuring that it adheres to all state laws and public policies.
Rather than simply having one lawyer it is advised by many legal professionals that each party that will be signing a prenuptial agreement have their own lawyer present. Having one lawyer represent one party while the other is without representation can easily result in the agreement being thrown out. Having a lawyer for each party ensures a level of fairness within the agreement as each party involved has a legal professional looking out solely for their clients best interest.
Since a prenuptial agreement is a legal document that decides the allocation of funds or the separation of such, it is advisable to have someone present who is well versed in state law. This will avoid having issues placed in the prenuptial that violate laws or are not considered admissible. Prenuptial agreements for instance cannot involve matters such as child support or visitation rights as this is a matter that must be decided after the fact. A qualified legal professional will be aware of this and can aid the parties involved in avoiding making such mistakes within their agreement that may render it useless in a court of law.
Hiring a lawyer when writing out a prenuptial agreement will help ensure fairness for both parties in a variety of matters including such things as the division of property and debts that have been accumulated by both parties as a couple. While it is commonly assumed that by filing a prenuptial agreement each party will leave the marriage with what they came in with, this isn’t always true. Debts that have been accumulated by the couple must be paid and property that is owned and any taxes or expenses relating to it must be addressed.
This does work both ways however, as a couple spends time together they sometimes accumulate more than what each person came into the marriage with and these new items perhaps not addressed in the agreement must be divided as well. Since a prenuptial cannot be written after a couple is already married, a lawyer may aid the parties involved in the endeavor of dividing assets that were gained as a couple. Most importantly, since a prenuptial agreement is a legally binding document and must be witnessed in order for it to be valid, having a lawyer present is always the best way to go.