A postnuptial agreement could protect your interests if you were to divorce your spouse. The best time to write a postnup is when you and your spouse are on good terms. Here are some examples of reasons you may want a postnuptial agreement.
1. Wealth
If you or your spouse are wealthy, then you might lose some of your wealth after a divorce without a postnup. Maryland family law doesn’t hold a person responsible for their spouse’s personal debt, but the state does have the ability to equally distribute retirement assets, bank accounts, real property and vehicles. You need to outline how you want assets distributed in a postnup to avoid the court making the decision for you.
2. Children
When you brought children from another partner into the marriage, you should have a martial agreement that states some of your assets are going to go to your children. This helps protect your assets if you were to divorce. Otherwise, a court might award more money to your former spouse without taking the kids into consideration.
3. Marital conduct
Postnuptial agreements may include clauses on the duties of each spouse and what kind of behavior isn’t acceptable. It can clearly define cheating so that there isn’t any debate as to whether a certain action, such as an emotional affair, was cheating or not. You can also limit how often in-laws come over to the house among many other details of maintaining a happy marriage. Having your marital conduct agreements written in a legal document can help both of you take your promises to each other seriously.
4. Business
The judicial system often views a business as marital property that it can divide after a couple divorces. A spouse could receive a share of the business or a monetary payment based on the business’s value even if they didn’t contribute directly to the business. If your spouse was a paid employee of the business, then the court may also award them partial ownership or a monetary payment.
You should add protections for your sole ownership of your business in your postnup. If both you and your spouse own the business, then come up with an agreement on how to divide it in the event of a divorce. One of you may decide to give up partial ownership to avoid the pain of working together after a divorce in exchange for a payment based on a specific percentage of its value.
Regardless of how much money you earn, you benefit from having a postnuptial agreement. You get your negotiations out of the way in advance in case you divorce.
