Creating A Solid Defense

If your soon-to-be spouse asks you to sign a prenuptial agreement before you wed, you should realize that there are certain things that legally cannot be included in this document. A prenuptial is usually designed to protect a person's assets, but it can also be used to protect one spouse from the other spouse's debt. While there are numerous things a prenuptial agreement can include, here are two main things that should not be included in the agreement.  

Child-related issues

Whether you have kids now or not, a prenuptial agreement cannot include any details about issues relating to these kids. This includes details about

• Child custody and visitation rights
• Child support payments or amounts
• Schooling requirements or principles about raising the kids (including religious values)

If you are not opposed to signing a prenuptial agreement, you should still thoroughly read it over before agreeing to it. You may even want to bring it to your own family lawyer to let him or her look it over before you sign it.

If the agreement contains any details about children, these details must be removed before you agree to it. If the agreement has these details and you sign it, a court in the future may rule them out if you end up getting divorced simply because it is not legal to include them. It would be easier, though, for you to have these lines removed before agreeing to it.

Personal rules

The second thing to watch out for as you read over the agreement is any details that are not financially-related. Prenuptial agreements are designed to protect spouses financially, not domestically. Details like this involve personal rules or preferences, and these types of things should not be found in a prenuptial. This can include issues such as:

• Division of household chores
• Visitation rules with family members and friends
• Vacation destinations
• Holiday traveling requirements

While it is not necessarily illegal to include details like this, a court may not uphold a prenuptial if it finds personal rules in it. You should simply ask your future spouse to remove these lines from the document before you sign it.

Family lawyers are experienced with all types of issues that relate to families, and this includes prenuptial agreements. If you are wondering whether you should sign the prenuptial your future spouse handed to you, talk to a lawyer like Law Office Of Ernest A Buche Jr first, and let him or her give you legal advice about it. By doing this, you can gain more confidence in the marriage and legal agreement you are asked to sign.