- Scott Levin Esq, CDFA
- San Diego Divorce Mediation & Family Law
- (858) 255-1321
- scottlevinmediation@gmail.com
When couples tie the knot in California, they often envision a lifetime of love, companionship, and shared experiences. As life goes on, dealing with money, possessions, and expectations can be tough on a marriage.
If money problems are causing issues in your relationship, a postnuptial agreement can help. It can create a plan for finances and possibly prevent divorce, easing the pressure on your marriage.
Family lawyer Scott Levin has a lot of experience creating postnuptial agreements for clients. He thinks that couples who agree on how to split their money and debts if they divorce can reduce stress in their marriage and have a better relationship.
Keep reading to find out more about San Diego California postnuptial agreements.
A post-nuptial agreement is similar to a prenuptial agreement. A post-nuptial agreement is a marital contract between spouses who specify how they will divide property, assets and debts in the event of divorce or legal separation.
A prenuptial agreement is made before marriage, while a postnuptial agreement is made during marriage. The only difference is when they are created.
Just like a prenuptial agreement, a post-nuptial agreement is created to determine how property will be divided if divorce occurs. With a postnuptial agreement, couples can iron out the same financial considerations they wanted to address all along—albeit after they’ve exchanged vows.
The goal of a postnuptial agreement is to decide how to share assets and debts should the parties decide at a later time to divorce. It allows couples to make these decisions without being under the pressure of an active divorce.
Couples may have a variety of reasons to sign a postnup, including protecting an inheritance, providing for a stay-at-home spouse, assigning ownership of a business, repaying a parental gift, or even salvaging a marriage. Among the decisions, postnups don’t address: what the child support arrangements will be or how child custody will be assigned after a divorce.
A stay-at-home spouse whose earning power has dwindled as a result of being out of the job market—or a spouse who wants to provide for children from a previous relationship—may also see the value of a legal document dictating the partition of assets. Another very common use of the postnuptial agreement among our clients is to determine the value of a company. Assets like bank accounts and retirement funds are relatively easy to value in a divorce proceeding. But putting a dollar figure on a business in which one or both spouses are principals is considerably harder. Because valuing a company can be extremely expensive and time-consuming, some couples use postnuptial agreements as a way to categorize the business as separate property that will stay with just one spouse, and to decide the amount and how the other spouse would be compensated for the buyout should it become necessary.
In California, a postnuptial agreement can cover a wide range of issues, including:
Property Division
When you get married, you and your spouse may have things that belong just to you, like a car you owned before the wedding or a gift from your family. These things are called “separate property.”
But, you may also get new things together during your marriage, like a house or furniture. These things are called “community property.”
A postnuptial agreement helps you and your spouse decide what belongs to each of you separately and what you’ll share. This way, if you ever get divorced, you’ll already know who gets to keep what.
Spousal Support
Sometimes, when a couple gets divorced, one person may need help from the other to pay for their living expenses. This is called “spousal support” or “alimony.”
In a postnuptial agreement, you and your spouse can decide how much money will be paid in case of divorce. This agreement allows you to determine financial arrangements if the marriage ends.
You can specify the amount of money one spouse will pay to the other. This can help to avoid disputes and uncertainty in the event of a divorce.
You can also decide how long these payments will last. By figuring this out ahead of time, you can make sure that both of you will be taken care of if your marriage ends.
Debt Allocation
Just like you might have separate and shared property, you and your spouse might also have debts – money that you owe to others. A postnuptial agreement can help you decide who will be responsible for paying off these debts if you get divorced.
For example, if you have a credit card that’s just in your name, you might agree that you’ll pay off that debt on your own. But if you have a loan that you took out together, like a mortgage, you might decide to split that debt equally. Making these decisions now can save you a lot of arguing later.
Business Ownership
If you or your spouse owns a business, a postnuptial agreement can help protect it. You can use the agreement to make clear who owns the business and who will be in charge of running it.
This is important because if you get divorced, you don’t want there to be any confusion about what happens to the business. You can use a postnup to make sure the business stays with the right person. This will help the business run smoothly even if your marriage changes.
Inheritance Rights
When someone in your family leaves you money or property after they die, that’s called an inheritance. You might want to make sure that these special gifts stay in your family, even if you get divorced. A postnuptial agreement can help with that.
You and your spouse can decide that any inheritances you receive will remain your separate property, no matter what. That way, if your marriage ends, you won’t have to worry about losing the things your family wanted you to have.
What about Child Custody and Child Support?
Importantly, a postnuptial agreement cannot determine child support or child custody in the event of a divorce. You and your spouse must agree on custody or a court will decide based on what’s best for the child.
There are several things that will need to be considered by the couple before entering into a postnuptial agreement, and the following should be done before seeking a lawyer’s help:
Postnuptial agreements can be beneficial for a variety of couples in California, including:
For a postnuptial agreement to be valid and enforceable in California, it must meet certain requirements:
● The agreement has to be in writing & signed by both spouses.
● Each spouse must have their own independent legal representation to ensure they fully understand the terms and consequences of the agreement.
● The agreement must be entered into voluntarily, without coercion or duress.
● There must be full disclosure of each spouse’s assets, debts, and financial obligations.
● The terms of the agreement cannot be unconscionable or grossly unfair to one party.
If a married couple with a postnuptial agreement eventually opts for divorce, the California divorce process can be quite different from a San Diego divorce without a marital agreement. faster, cheaper and less stressful.
A valid postnuptial agreement can pre-emptively resolve many contentious issues that typically surface during a divorce, such as division of property and the amount and length of spousal support.
While a postnup doesn’t guarantee a faster, affordable and less stressful divorce process, a marital agreement can result in a more efficient and less confrontational divorce process, saving the couple valuable time, money, and emotional distress.
San Diego divorce attorney Scott Levin is an experienced post-nuptial agreement lawyer who can represent your interests in drafting a California postnuptial agreement.
By providing clarity and structure, a postnup can help alleviate financial stressors and potentially even save a marriage from collapse.
You can learn more about postnuptial agreements in California by calling (858) 255-1321 and scheduling a free consultation. You can also schedule a free 30-minute consultation online.
