Premarital Agreements are contracts for spouses prior to marriage.  It is in contemplation of how property divides in the event of a future divorce or separation. At Claremore attorneys we have helped countless people with issues regarding prenuptial agreements. The majority of courts will enforce prenuptial agreements so long as the contract is fair and reasonable. Generally, the provisions of the agreements will deal with property and alimony issues that complicate the divorce process.

If a party contests the provisions of a prenuptial agreement, the court will apply the Burgess Test to determine enforce-ability. The Burgess Test will look to the validity of the agreement by asking if the provision is fair and reasonable, whether there was full, frank and fair disclosure of the other spouse’s worth before execution of the contract or the party challenging the contract had a generally accurate knowledge of the other’s worth. Prenuptial agreements remain one of the most effective contracts to protect individual interests, assets, and property.  However, the court adheres to enforcing those agreements that do not limit or restrict party’s rights within the marriage.

Can a Prenuptial Agreement be Modified?

Amending and modifying prenuptial agreements can be very tricky. For instance, if there is growth on the separate property that was expressed in the contract, it is not part of the prenuptial agreement unless there is explicit waiver. The person with the pre-nuptial keeps the house.  However, the growth in value of the separate property is not part of the agreement.

To make the growth part of the pre-nuptial agreement, the agreement must expressly state that the growth is part of the asset and that the signer knows about this rule, but waives its protections. Furthermore, the amended provisions of a pre-nuptial agreement no longer serve as a pre-marital agreement and will treated as a post-nuptial agreement. The court will only enforce the amended provisions if the agreements do not attempt to waive or limit the rights of the spouse. However, although the court may not enforce the amended provisions, the original pre-nuptial agreement remains enforceable.

Should I Have a Prenuptial Agreement:

Whether or not you should create a pre-nup or not is a difficult question for any attorney to answer. Some people think that to sask for one from your prospective spouse is rude or somehow foretells a divorce. What I can tell you is that no one, I mean no one, marries with anticipation of divorce. The ugly truth is that depending on your socioeconomic position we are 50% of marriages end in divorce.

With this said, after the divorce is filed is often times the hardest time to sit down and divide assets. This is because with a divorce comes extreme emotion. If on the other hand this occurs prior to the marriage it removes some of the emotion. I also think that facing the reality that 50% of marriages end in divorce should give both party’s pause. This pause gives the opportunity to discuss dividing marital assets in the event of this unfortunate end to a marriage.

Call a Claremore Prenuptial Agreement Attorney:

If you have any family law question be them divorce or pre-nuptial agreement questions call Kania Law Office’s Claremore Attorneys today at 918-379-4872