Minnesota Prenuptial Antenuptial Postnuptial and Premarital Agreements

You meet. You fall in love. And before long, you're registering for china. Ironically, the life event that will most dramatically change your legal status doesn't require the services of a lawyer at all. But, while it's very easy to enter into a marriage, it's very difficult to get out of one.

Purpose of Prenuptials

One way to make a potential divorce easier is to draft a prenuptial agreement - a legally binding agreement signed before marriage that dictates how assets are to be distributed in the event of a dissolution of your marriage.

Typical Couples

Often, people enter into prenuptial agreements if there is a great disparity in income among the parties, or when one person has an ownership interest in a preexisting or family-owned business or farm. Prenuptials are also common in second marriages, when the people getting married are older and have children or grandchildren whom they want to make sure are financially protected.

Enforceability

To remain enforceable, a prenuptial agreement should contain a full and fair disclosure of the earnings and property of each party, each side must have the opportunity to consult with a lawyer, the agreement must be in writing, and there must be a statement of the assets of the parties.

Unenforceable Agreements

Prenuptial agreements will be enforced by a court, unless the agreement is found to be fundamentally unfair at the time of the divorce. The contract also may not be enforced if the circumstances under which the agreement was based have changed so substantially that enforcement of the agreement would not be consistent with the expectations of the parties when the contract was executed.