Prenuptial Agreements ◦ Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Goshen, New York, Lawyer
It is always a good idea for someone contemplating marriage to look carefully at key life issues that will be impacted by the marital relationship. Engaged couples often undergo premarital counseling with a member of the clergy or a marriage and family counselor. Likewise, it is a very good idea to discuss legal matters with an attorney. You or your fiancé/fiancée may be wondering whether a prenuptial agreement is right for you.
Contact me, New York family lawyer Jonathan D. Katz, to schedule a consultation regarding how a prenuptial agreement might help clarify how assets and debts will be allotted in the event of a marital breakup.
No one who is preparing for marriage wants to imagine that the marriage may end in divorce. Neither do we expect to be seriously injured in a car accident — yet we buy car insurance to protect ourselves and our families in case that should happen. If you are older, have great differences in assets or income, have children from previous relationships or own a business, it is at least a valuable and enlightening experience to discuss the possibility of a prenuptial agreement.
Perhaps you or your fiancé/fiancée already is in agreement that a prenup is desirable. A lawyer's guidance can help ensure that the prenup will be enforceable, that assets are not hidden and that the full disclosure of assets and debts is documented along with the signatures. For a prenuptial agreement to stand up under future scrutiny, it is also important that neither member of the engaged couple be pressured or forced to sign. That's why a prenup signed on the day of the wedding may not be enforceable.
Perhaps your long-range financial goals can be articulated through a will instead of, or in addition to, a premarital agreement. Contact me to schedule a consultation regarding any life planning issue such as a prenuptial agreement, a postnuptial agreement, a living will or a will.
