Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements
Pre-nuptial agreements are agreements entered into by unmarried individuals prior to marriage. The agreements are intended to preserve specified assets of an individual so they are not subject to division in the case of divorce, death and/or disability. In Michigan, pre-nuptial agreements are contractually binding and enforceable if there is no fraud or duress, and there is full disclosure by both parties of assets and liability.
A properly drafted and executed pre-nuptial agreement enables a party to preserve direction of their separate property and estate without interference by their soon to be spouse. Each pre-nuptial agreement is unique to the parties entering into the agreement. There may be provisions which address children who are born during the marriage, barring of alimony/spousal support, lump sum payments in case of death, expanding rights of a spouse in your estate after a number of years, payment of family expenses after marriage, and requirements to waive rights in qualified retirement plan(s).
The pre-nuptial agreement is negotiated between parties with assistance of legal counsel. These agreements can be simple or complex. The consideration to enter into the agreement is the agreement of both parties to enter into the marriage. Legal counsel can explain your legal rights and the meaning of the agreement. Each person should have his/her own representative since one party's interests may be very different than the other's. There must be a full disclosure of assets and liabilities attached to the agreement.
Post-nuptial agreements are entered into by spouses after they are married. They may cover similar issues that are covered in pre-nuptial agreements. Unless there is a true arm's length transaction upholding the validity of a port-nuptial agreement, it may be more difficult than a pre-nuptial agreement to enforce. Post-nuptial agreements are utilized by some people to identify each spouse's rights to property, alimony, etc. in case of a divorce. Again, both parties should be represented by separate legal counsel.
