Maria Remillard is a partner with Worcester firm Bowditch & Dewey, focusing on probate and domestic relations cases. Reach her at mremillard@bowditch.com.
Updated: April 4, 2022
10 Things
10 Things I know about ... Prenuptial agreements
By Maria Remillard
10. Yes, you need one. Half of all marriages end in divorce. Prenups protect your assets, preserve your inheritance, and make sure you don’t get stuck with your ex-spouse’s debt.
9. Divorce lawyers have seen a significant rise in demand for prenups, especially among Millennials, who are getting married later when they have established careers and often keep separate bank accounts.
8. They can save you money. You’ll pay lawyers less in legal fees, since you’ve already resolved most thorny issues.
7. You can protect yourself from exorbitant alimony payments. Without a prenup, you could get stuck paying your partner up to 35% of the difference between you and your spouse’s income.
6. You can avoid paying your spouse’s credit card bills. Without a prenup, the court could rule divorcing parties equally split their debt.
5. You can make sure that children from a previous relationship can still get money you plan to give them. Without a prenup, spouses can even go to court and override a will.
4. Bring up the subject before you get engaged. If you start before the proposal, you can have more casual, amicable discussions since there’s no time pressure.
3. Put it in writing. No court would uphold a verbal prenup agreement.
2. Each partner needs an independent lawyer who will advocate for their best interests. Without separate lawyers, courts would not likely consider the agreement valid.
1. Forgot to get a prenup? Lawyers often draft a post-nuptial agreement.
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