A premarital agreement, also called an “antenuptial” agreement, is a contract a man and a woman enter into before marriage, a contract that governs their rights and obligations in the event of death or divorce. At one time, courts enforced only premarital agreements that covered the rights of the couple in the event one of them died. Premarital agreements that purported to set the couple’s rights if they got divorced had no legal force and effect because of the belief that such agreements promoted marital disharmony and divorce. Today most, if not all, states will uphold a premarital agreement in either situation (i.e, death or divorce) if it meets some fairly rigorous guidelines.
If you or a loved one is in need of an expert Sacramento family law attorney, call (916) 266-0188 to speak with Robert N. Kitay today. It is important to protect your legal rights.
Not everyone has to be concerned about premarital agreements, and some people need to be more concerned about them than others. For example, a young couple with no children from a prior relationship, no assets to speak of, and no business interests, generally would rarely need a premarital agreement. But a middle-aged person with several children from prior marriage, his or her own house, an established business, and other assets should seriously consider a premarital agreement.
That can be covered by a premarital contract? Anything you like. It can be as exhaustive or as short as you like. The typical premarital contract, however, does not cover such things as who takes out the trash and who does the dishes. Rather, it usually speaks to the end of the marriage, when the time comes to divide the property and determine the amount of alimony payments or even whether alimony should be paid at all. Sometimes there is a paragraph or two relating to the custody and support of any children that are born of the marriage. However, any provisions regarding children are not binding upon the court; the best interests and the needs and welfare of the child (discussed latter in this chapter) are the deciding factors.
If you or a loved one is in need of an expert family law lawyer Sacramento, call (916) 266-0188 to speak with Robert N. Kitay today. It is important to protect your legal rights.
A court will enforce a premarital contract only if, before the agreement was made, both parties made a fair and full disclosure of all of his or her assets and other relevant information. If one party misrepresented the nature or extent of his or her property, the court most likely will refuse to enforce the agreement.
The agreement should by all means be in writing. State law usually requires this, and it also is the only way of ensuring that there is no dispute as to the terms of the agreement. The premarital agreement should be written in as simple English as possible, to prevent either spouse from coming back at a latter date and saying that he or she didn’t really understand the agreement and signed it only because everyone was pressuring him or her to do so.
If you or a loved one is in need of an expert family law attorney, call (916) 266-0188 to speak with Robert N. Kitay of a Sacramento family law firm. It is important to protect your legal rights.
Law Office of Robert N. Kitay
2508 Garfield Avenue, Suite A
Carmichael CA 95608
Tel: (916) 266-0188
