Keeping Separate Property from being Considered Marital Assets

Many people become engaged during the holiday season and within the first couple of months of the New Year, especially around Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, many people are also served with divorce papers during this same period. This combination of engagements and divorces may bring up the subject of protecting each individual’s assets from being considered marital assets in the event of a Utah divorce.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) constructs models of what can affect a population, not only diseases. They are one source reporting the alarming statistic that nearly 50 percent of all marriages will end in divorce. Despite these numbers, 6.8 out of every 1000 couples still tie-the-knot while 3.6 of every 1000 couples file for divorce.

Young women in Utah are more knowledgeable and have more access to resources than at any other time throughout history. Women are now more independent and own and manage businesses, accumulate significant assets and even buy homes long before they consider marriage. When these independent women do decide to get married, they may wish to safeguard these assets in case the marriage does not work out.

With so much more at stake when accepting a marriage proposal, it might be wise to have some form of insurance. Utah couples may know this kind of insurance can take the form of a prenuptial agreement. These agreements can protect the assets acquired before marriage so they are not confused with the joint or marital assets if a couple divorces. It can be difficult to think about a marriage possibly ending before it even happens, but preparing for the worst ahead of time can give both parties some peace of mind that they will at least leave the marriage with what they had when they got engaged.

Source: The Huffington Post, A Post-Valentine’s Post: Smart Girls Get Prenups, Margaret M. Kruse, Feb. 19, 2014