Premarital Agreements
Attorneys Guiding You Through Pre-Nuptial Agreements
Once all the dresses are put away and the flowers are gone, the daily activities of marriage begin. Finances become a central factor of your life together.
Agreeing how you will handle finances after your wedding day, along with other assets and property, will help make the transition smoother and ensure your interests are protected.
Lakeshore Law and Mediation helps you create a premarital agreement that will help make life easier after your wedding day.
As professional, legal mediators, our friendly, straightforward approach helps you communicate with each other to reach an amicable agreement quickly and move forward with planning the rest of your big day.
Call us today! 616.844.4091
Premarital Assets and Debts
Make a list of all your assets and debts currently in your name. It’s required for prenuptial agreements, but is also just a good practice to remain open and honest with your future spouse. Areas to address as you agree how to handle assets and debts include:
Marital Property
Any assets or debts that you accumulate together, after the wedding day, should be handled differently than pre-marital property. Consider how you will handle income, assets and debts you accumulate together. Will they be jointly owned 50/50? Or will another arrangement be required?
Management of Assets and Income
Whether you and your future spouse have similar styles of spending and saving, or completely different views on money management, it’s best to talk about this and agree to a plan ahead of time. Ask yourself these types of questions about managing money once you’re married.
Credit and Debt
A serious talk about credit and debt, along with a review of each of your credit reports is also a good idea. Things to consider during this discussion:
Working and Income
There are also big decisions to be made about balancing work, income, home and family in the premarriage planning process. It’s best to both be on the same page when it comes to who will earn money, take care of the home and be responsible for daily family matters, both in the short and long term. Some things to consider:
Spousal Support
Although it may be hard to think about spousal support, or alimony, before you even get married, what happens if it doesn’t work out? How can you both maintain income and provide for your family in case of divorce? It makes sense to at least talk about it briefly in any case. If you have a large amount of assets or high income, it makes more sense to agree upon it up front.
Consider your work and income situation, what limits to the spousal support you would like and also what would happen in case one person is unable to work.
Gifts from Families
If there is a large monetary gift, loan or other financial gift from a family member, how will you handle that in your marriage? Would it be community property or belong to the person whose family gave the gift? If it’s a loan, who is responsible for repaying it?
Taxes
After your wedding day, your finances will be integrated for tax purposes, unless you specify otherwise as part of your prenuptial agreement. Discuss whether you will file taxes jointly or separately, what your attitudes are about taxes in general and how to handle old tax debt.
Other Important Areas
In addition to all of these above topics, you should also consider whether there is a business to consider, and how that will be divided (if at all), or if a business is started, how it will be handled financially during (or after) the marriage. Also, if higher education is in the plans, how will you deal with expenses and demands for time.
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616.844.4091
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Spring Lake, MI 49456
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