Marital Agreements

In what situations should a couple consider a postnuptial agreement?

From Anne’s interview on ReelLawyers.com

  • Postnuptial Agreements are the trickiest

    contract that I draw up and let me

    explain why with a prenuptial agreement

    that’s something that the parties enter

    into before they marry and so the courts

    look at that and say well you’re

    agreeing to all this and it’s because

    the two of you are getting married so

    because of that you have a reason to

    agree and the courts call that reason

    consideration that’s the legal term for

    it

    with a postnup they’re already married

    so where do you get the reason to sign

    the thing right there the the marriage

    can’t be it it’s already happened so we

    have to come up with

    consideration the Supreme Court of

    Tennessee has said that if you are

    reconciling so if one part’s filed for

    divorce or intends to file for divorce

    and they say to the other party I’ll

    take you back but only on these terms

    you’re going to sign this and then I’ll

    I I won’t divorce you that that can be

    upheld as a as consideration and as a

    real contract so you have to be very

    careful you can’t just ask someone hey

    you know you just won the lottery and I

    really want you know 50% of that if we

    ever got divorced let’s make sure to put

    that in writing no no no no no that’s

    not going to happen you’ve got to have a

    reason you have to have actually wanted

    to leave the marriage and probably

    actively taken steps to do that that

    would then be evidenced to a court that

    you had consideration when your partner

    agreed oh I’ll sign this and I’ll give

    you XYZ if we divorce because I love you

    so much and want to keep you

What are the requirements for a valid prenuptial agreement?

From Daniel’s Interview on ReelLawyers.com

  • I just finished a case involving a

    challenge to a prenuptual

    agreement to be valid it has to be

    entered into knowledgeably it has to be

    uh entered into in a situation that

    there’s no duress no coercion

    being uh pushed on by one SP one party

    over the other party it has to be fair

    enough Equitable it has to be clear it

    has to lay out the assets that each

    party brings into the marriage it has to

    be free like if you can’t be pressuring

    the other side to sign it by threatening

    that you’re going to cancel the wedding

    which is scheduled for tomorrow the way

    I see these type agreements challenged

    over and over again is if a lack of

    disclosure of assets that’s why every uh

    prenuptial agreement should have a

    schedule of assets and debts that each

    party brings into the marriage we see

    them challenged so often on they just

    foisted on the other side right before a

    wedding that type thing and put under a

    lot of pressure the uh the schedule of

    assets and debts is perhaps the most

    important part of it now prenups may

    have what’s called a waiver of alimony

    some prenups will say if we’re married

    this long then Alam money will be this

    amount if we’re married that long it’ll

    be that amount other prenups will say we

    agree that if we get divorce there will

    be no alimony well that is enforceable

    in Tennessee if the agreements held

    valid as long as the alimony waiver does

    not render the financially disadvantaged

    spouse to be what’s called a public

    charge and and by that if if it would

    render a person so financially helpless

    that they would in be on welfare you can

    challenge the alimony part of a prenut