Prenuptial Agreement Attorney in San Diego

Helping Clients Secure Their Future in the Event of a Divorce

Whether you’re engaged or newly married, this time should be full of new, exciting experiences as you begin intertwining all aspects of your life with the person you’re committed to. However, it’s important to think about the practical details of marriage, including certain legal elements. After all, California law states that once you’re married, nearly all debts and assets acquired during your marriage are equally owned by both spouses. If this concerns you, it’s time to consider signing a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement with help from San Diego family law attorneys at The Law Office of George Gedulin.

Our legal team understands this is a very personal decision that an engaged or married couple might make, and they’ll likely have questions along the way since these legal documents can be confusing to complete. That’s why we’re honored to provide legal advice through this delicate process. You deserve peace of mind that your assets are fully protected by the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement you’ve signed, so we highly recommend that you hire a San Diego prenuptial agreement attorney to help draft your legal document. This will ensure that your legal rights and best interests are protected and that the agreement is valid. Call our San Diego law firm today to learn more.

What Is a Prenuptial Agreement?

A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract between a couple that is completed and signed before the marriage takes place. It becomes effective as soon as the marriage is officiated. Prenuptial agreements help one or both of the spouses to protect their assets so if they divorce or legally separate, they do not lose those assets once the marriage ends.

Although all couples can benefit from prenuptial agreements, they’re most common among wealthier individuals who own one or more of the following:

Real estate.
More than $50,000 in assets.
An income of $100,000 or more per year.
A business.
Any other significant assets.

Additionally, if your income is much higher than your partner’s or if they have much more debt than you, a prenuptial agreement can keep these assets and debts separate in the event of a divorce in the future. If you’re interested in protecting yourself and your spouse before you get married, contact our San Diego family law attorneys to draft and sign a premarital agreement prior to your wedding day.

What Are the Benefits of Premarital Agreements?

Divorce rates have gone up significantly, resulting in many couples splitting half of all of their assets. With so much at stake, you should protect your property by ensuring that it will not be lost in the case of a divorce or separation.

The benefits of having a prenuptial agreement in place during a marriage or following a divorce, separation, or death include:

Both parties’ assets are protected.
One spouse will not inherit the debts of the other.
Each party can determine how their property will be passed on in the case of their death.
Each party can define financial rights and responsibilities during the marriage.
Both parties are effectively avoiding long, costly legal battles.

Since one of the main contributors to divorce is disagreements or stress over finances, participating in a prenuptial agreement can be incredibly beneficial for a marriage. If couples enter their marriage fully aware of the financial situation and property ownership of each spouse, they are more likely to avoid future disagreements over money. Having a plan for your assets and knowing they are protected may be the best thing you can do for your marriage. To learn if a premarital agreement makes sense for you and your spouse, contact us to talk to an experienced San Diego prenup attorney.

What Issues Should a Prenuptial Agreement Address?

If you and your spouse agree that a prenuptial contract would benefit both of you, you’ll need to think about what to outline in this legal document. This will depend on your specific needs and your lawyer’s recommendations, but it’s helpful to know that prenuptial agreements commonly address the following questions:

What assets does each spouse own before the wedding?
What debts does each spouse have prior to getting married?
How will you divide the marital property if you get divorced?
If you have children from previous relationships, what assets do you plan to leave them after your death?
If you’re a business owner, will the business profits be marital or separate property?
Will you treat your retirement funds as separate or community property?
Do you have a family business, inheritance, or heirloom that you want to keep in your immediate family rather than passing it to your spouse in the event of your death or divorce?
Which of you will be responsible for certain financial matters, such as paying the household bills, filing taxes, paying off debts, and saving money?

Do you or your spouse wish to waive the right to spousal support in the event of a divorce?

These are the most common issues for engaged couples to address in San Diego prenuptial agreements. Your attorney might recommend additional matters to include in your premarital agreement depending on your specific circumstances, so contact our San Diego family law firm to learn more.

What Is a Postnuptial Agreement?

A postnuptial agreement is a legal contract that functions the same as a prenuptial agreement. The main difference is that a postnuptial agreement is signed after the wedding. Some spouses simply run out of time or don’t think about signing a prenuptial agreement before getting married, so they opt to sign a postnuptial agreement after months or even years of marriage.

However, in some cases, postnuptial agreements appeal to married couples only after something has changed in the relationship. It could simply be that one spouse suddenly makes a lot more money than the other or gets an inheritance they’d like to keep in their family, not risk losing during divorce. Similarly, if one spouse has a child from a previous relationship and wants to ensure they get certain assets, a postnuptial agreement can make this clear.

If your spouse has started gambling, shopping excessively, carrying high credit card balances, or otherwise making risky financial choices, a postnuptial agreement can protect you from having to pay their debts in the future. If they decide to return to school, your postnuptial agreement can specify that they’re responsible for paying their student loans and other education expenses.

For some couples, postnuptial agreements only become more appealing when it’s apparent that divorce is a very real possibility. So, if you’re unsure if you and your spouse will stay together much longer, creating a postnuptial agreement can be a proactive way to protect yourself when it comes to property division during divorce.

In this way, postnuptial agreements can benefit couples who end up getting divorced since they simplify the property division step. For couples who work on their marriage and stay together, having a postnuptial agreement in place shouldn’t affect their relationship, which is why San Diego family law lawyers recommend that most couples get a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Call our law office today to learn more about how to protect your valuable property after you get married.

Do Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements Have Any Exclusions?

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are legal contracts that determine how your financial assets are handled in case of divorce. For this reason, there are strict legal requirements that you must abide by when you create this legally binding contract. This is why you should hire San Diego prenuptial agreement lawyers to ensure your document is considered fair, accurate, and enforceable by a judge.

After all, you should be aware that before your prenuptial agreement can be legally binding, a judge must carefully review and approve it, which they won’t do if they deem it completely unfair to one party. There is a limit to what legal rights you or your spouse can forfeit in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, so make sure your requests are within reason if you want your document to be considered executed properly and enforceable.

For example, if your suggestions in your premarital agreement would leave your spouse with fewer assets and more debts than they had when they entered the marriage, a judge wouldn’t find this to be fair and would not approve it. You also cannot include anything that is illegal or against public policy, such as your children’s rights. Since premarital agreements are created to address financial matters, no personal matters may be included. So, you can’t use this document to outline how to raise children or where the family will vacation, and you can’t discuss child custody or child support in it. These decisions will be made based on the best interests of the children, not via written prenuptial agreements.

In addition, your premarital agreement can’t include any provisions that encourage divorce, so if a judge sees any financial incentives for divorce in the document, they will not approve it. Finally, judges have to ensure that all California premarital agreements align with the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, so they want to see that each spouse was advised by a separate attorney and signed the document voluntarily, not under force, threat, coercion, or deception.

If a judge has reason to believe that one spouse did not give valid consent to make the document or hid assets and debts from the other, they won’t sign off on it as a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. This is why when California couples decide to protect their property through this type of legal contract, they should hire San Diego family law attorneys who draft prenuptial agreements regularly in accordance with California state law, including the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. If you want to ensure your postnuptial or premarital agreement is properly executed, contact our San Diego law office for a free consultation.

How Can You Find the Right San Diego Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer?

If you are considering entering into a prenuptial agreement, we at the Law Office of George Gedulin highly recommend that you enlist the help of an experienced San Diego prenuptial agreement lawyer. Entering into a marriage is a special time in your life, but it’s also a good time to secure your assets through the use of a popular family law option, and we want to help make the process smoother for you.

Our team will work closely with you to ensure you know your rights and help you to protect your assets so you can get married with peace of mind. Even if you’re already married and want to learn how to protect your property in case of divorce, we can assist you. Our family team is backed by over two decades of experience dealing with cases just like yours, and our extensive experience with postnuptial and premarital agreements makes us the perfect law firm for you.

Whether you have questions about how California’s community property laws treat community property and marital property, or you want to learn more about spousal support and other family law issues, our team is eager to provide answers. Call 858-943-6591 today for a free consultation with caring San Diego family law attorneys.

Ready to Secure Your Assets? Contact Us for a Prenup Consultation Contact the Law Office of George Gedulin today at 858-943-6591 to speak with a San Diego prenuptial agreement attorney.