A prenuptial agreement is a contract that is entered into between two people before they are married. The contract typically dictates the division of property and maintenance/support amounts and duration should the parties divorce.
These contracts are especially important to any party coming into a marriage with significantly more assets than the other party or a larger earning capacity than their future spouse. It is important to have legal counsel draft these documents to help ensure that the agreement will be enforceable if they are ever needed after marriage.
Often you hear about prenuptial agreement terms of celebrities who have been recently married or recently divorced. Justin Timberlake’s Wife, Jessica Biel would be provided with $500,000 if he is caught having an affair. Michael Douglas would have to provide Catherine Zeta Jones with $2,800,000 per year for every year that they were married. Kevin Federline only received $1,000,000 after his divorce from Britney Spears according to his prenuptial agreement.
Even though most of us are not millionaires like these celebrities prenuptial contracts are important to people of all levels of income. Prenuptial agreements should not put a strain on a couple about to be married but rather help an engaged couple open a dialogue about finances for what will hopefully be a long and loving marriage.