Love, commitment, forever, till death do us part are all words associated with getting married. A good lawyer who specializes in prenuptial agreements does not fit. It should be a common as throwing rice, wedding cakes and marriage toasts. Prenuptial agreements protect both provide ease of mind peace of mind.

Obstacles to a prenuptial agreement are common. Some may think that discussions on a prenuptial agreement throw a shadow on the marriage. It portends a bad result for the marriage. This is a silly notion. Successful marriages need hard work and dedication. This not include superstitious beliefs that preparing for all scenarios doom a marriage. Prenuptial agreements remove tensions and doubts. Each spouse armed with a family lawyer can identify assets and custodial rights if there is a legal separation or divorce. Clearly outline each spouse’s position removes current and future sources of conflict. Spouses can state that they were told of these conditions before marriage, it was agreed upon and no spouse was deceitful or changed terms of their understanding.

There is a perception of prenuptial agreement is that mostly celebrities and the wealthy use it. This has been propagated by media who sensationalize celebrity marriages and break ups. Court cases are covered more closely that murder cases. There are often details of the terms of divorce and often reference to prenuptial agreements. There congratulations are made to the spouse who gets more and the public choose camps. Sympathy goes out to the spouse that pays more money or loses more assets. Celebratory awards are bestowed on the one who gets more stuff from the marriage. Elin Nordegren was the financial winner when Tiger woods cheated on her. She was supposed to get only $20 million based on their prenuptial. However, Tiger woods ended up paying $110 million in their divorce settlement. Tiger paid a heavy price for cheating. The media covered the split closely and fans cheered and detractor and booed depending with whom they empathized.

Prenuptial agreement lawyers are important for child custody cases. Sometimes money is not the primary focus. Spouses may be more focused on who gets primary custody of the children. There are many combinations of child custody situations. Each spouse may bring children from a previous relationship. They may also have children together. At the same time, they may adopt children. A good lawyer that specializes in prenuptial agreements and has experience in child custody arrangements is invaluable in this process. State and federal law must be considered. Family lawyers versed in parental rights are highly values. Prenuptial agreements must comply with applicable law because a prenuptial agreement that violates existing law may be null and void. Before their marriage, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie apparently had good family lawyers. Their emphasis was not on finances. Ms. Jolie was more focused on custody issues. Specifically, she wanted custody of the children in case of a separation or divorce. It was reported that in their prenuptial agreement, Mr. Pitt agreed to accept Ms. Jolie’s request. True to form, when they divorced, Ms. Jolie got full custody of all children.

Prenuptial agreements are also good for predetermining who pays alimony in case of separation or divorce. This is particularly relevant when 1 spouse has significantly more financial assets than the other. The wealthy spouse may broach the topic early. Perhaps, this is not a fair arrangement. The wealthy spouse may have access to powerful and capable family lawyers with many years drafting and lawyering of prenuptial agreements. The poorer spouse may not have access to these resources. This results in levels of power and influence to detriment of the poorer spouse. Courts may consider this disparity when litigating the prenuptial and dissolution of the marriage. However, there is no duress and conflicts with existing law courts may be limited on discretionary awards that are already covered in the prenuptial agreement. The prenuptial agreement between Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones doubled the alimony payment by Michael Douglas if he was caught cheating. In this way prenuptial agreements can attempt to encourage good behavior and punish bad behavior. Michael Douglas has a hefty disincentive not to cheat. More than 2M per year. They are still a couple. Perhaps they each had good family lawyers.

The obvious question that huge payouts for cheating raise is whether marriage should happen in the first place. If one spouse feels the need to put in a prenuptial agreement a penalty if the other spouse cheats, the how much trust existed before the marriage? The prenuptial agreement is based on an abundance of distrust. This cannot be a healthy way of starting a marriage. Denise Richards had a prenuptial with Charlie Sheen that claimed to pay her $4M if Mr. Sheen was caught cheating. If this is true, Ms. Richards must be $4M richer. Her family lawyer was indeed sharp to insist on such a clause.

The same question arises when a spouse is rewarded for each year married. There is always a chance that one spouse can be accused of stretching out the marriage in order for a larger bonus upon divorce. This was reportedly an issue when Liz Taylor married Larry Portensky. Mr. Portensky was reportedly compensated for each year he remained married to Ms. Taylor. Did he remain in the marriage because of love and earnest commitment or was he staying put for a bigger payday? There is no way to tell unless he confesses. Good Family lawyers must not only protect their clients from financial pitfalls but also ethical and moral challenges. While constructing a prenuptial agreement for Ms. Taylor, her family lawyer must raise these issues. She must agree to these terms fully aware of the pros and cons of paying a spouse each year the marriage lasts.

There may be more area of incentives depending on a u priority. Apparently, Jay Z placed a high price on getting children. His prenuptial with Beyonce gave me $5M for each baby. Both parties here do not need the money or would hurt when it is paid but their family lawyers were under strict order to clearly states this item. Two babies later it worked for both spouses. They are still happily married with 2 babies and $10M richer.See more visit: Benjamin & Melmer, LLC.