Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements in Rancho Cucamonga
Protection in Case the Worst Happens in Your Marriage
Thinking of protecting your personal assets and interests in case your marriage should ever end in divorce? A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement drafted with the assistance of Chung & Ignacio, LLP and our Rancho Cucamonga pre/postnuptial agreement lawyers might be the right solution. Our legal team is known for both our extensive experience and our genuine compassion when helping clients through sensitive issues like divorce. It is our goal to help you create a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement that satisfies both you and your spouse or soon-to-be spouse.
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What is a Prenuptial Agreement?
You cannot accurately predict the future of your marriage, but you can prepare for it. A prenuptial agreement allows you to outline what to do with key components of your marriage and daily lives in case of a divorce. It must be created and signed before you marry your spouse.
For the most part, prenuptial agreements can decide how to handle:
- Spousal support: How much money should be provided to the spouse of lesser income by the other after a divorce can be decided ahead of time with a prenuptial agreement. In many cases, a prenup is used to decide that no spousal support be required at all, such as when both spouses should reasonably be financially independent on their own.
- Property division: You can use a prenuptial agreement to protect your separate property and assets from becoming community property once you are married. For example, you can agree that your home remains your separate property because it has been in your family for generations, even if your spouse lives there with you.
Drafting and signing a prenuptial agreement does not mean in any way that you expect your marriage to eventually end in divorce. It is simply a legal safety net under your marriage to help make legal processes easier, just in case you or your spouse decide to end your marriage one day. The social stigma surrounding prenuptials has begun to fade away in recent years, as evidenced by the noticeable increase in the number of California marriages that include a prenup.
Find out if a premarital agreement would be right for you. Call our Rancho Cucamonga prenuptial agreement attorneys at (909) 726-7112 today.
What is a Postnuptial Agreement?
A postnuptial agreement is essentially a prenuptial agreement, but it is drafted and signed after you are married. It follows the same rules and guidelines as a prenuptial, and most of them primarily cover spousal support and/or property division. Many married couples choose postnuptial agreements over prenuptials because they can get a better understanding of the terms of divorce that they would like to see with the insight they gained through their marriage. That is to say, prenuptials are based on predictions, but postnuptial agreements can be based on tangible knowledge and experience about the marriage.
UPAA & Drafting a Premarital Agreement
California legislature passed the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (UPAA) in 1986. This piece of law establishes the rules surrounding prenuptial and postnuptial agreements created in California. If your premarital agreement does not comply with UPAA, then it will be rejected by the family law court that reviews it, either when you submit your agreement or during the course of your divorce.
Since even a single word out of place can run contrary to UPAA regulations, it is important to get the legal counsel of experienced prenuptial attorneys like ours from Chung & Ignacio, LLP. We will take the time to get to know you and your spouse or fiancé, understand your day-to-day lives, and figure out your expectations in both marriage and possible divorce. Using this information and our insight, we can draft a premarital agreement that protects both your best interests and fully complies with UPAA, so it can pass a courtroom review.
Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreement Limitations
The power of a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is in no way limitless, though. There are many topics related to a divorce that you cannot include in or try to control with your pre/postnuptial.
Three topics courts usually do not want to see in a prenuptial or postnuptial are:
- Child support: Deciding how much money should be provided to the custodial parent by the noncustodial parent.
- Child custody: Deciding who becomes the custodial parent or how to fairly divide parenting time.
- Visitation: Deciding how often the noncustodial parent can visit or spend time with their children, if at all.
Family law courts must always decide in favor of whatever upholds a child’s best interests in a divorce. This ruling power must also always be held by the court and cannot be passed along to any other party. Trying to pre-decide child support, custody, and visitations with a prenuptial or postnuptial would not only take away the court’s power to rule, but it would also not consider a child’s current best interests. Therefore, we usually recommend omitting these topics in post/prenuptials because they can rarely stand in court.
Furthermore, prenuptials and postnuptial agreements cannot include any clause that is “unconscionable.” In other words, you cannot draft any language that is obviously unfair to one spouse or the other. For example, you cannot include a clause that says your spouse needs to move to Florida if you divorce because you will want them as far away from you as possible.
Plan for the Future & Embrace It Confidently
With a well-drafted prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, you and your spouse will likely feel a greatened sense of confidence in the future of your marriage. No longer will you need to worry about the “what ifs” of divorce because you have already planned for them ahead of time. Lifting those burdens and concerns off your shoulders lets you focus better on your marriage and how it grows. Many couples actually feel closer and happier after drafting pre/postnuptial agreements!
