Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

Many people express apprehension when they hear that an engaged couple will be signing a “prenup,” or what’s legally known in Colorado as a "Marital Agreement". After all, if the couple is planning to get married, many people ask why should they be thinking about a divorce? However, there are a number of sound reasons why couples might consider having a prenuptial agreement drafted prior to their marriage:

The most obvious reason is that a prenuptial agreement allows each party to maintain as separate property the assets they have prior to getting married.

Secondly, in the unfortunate event the couple were to get divorced, a validly drafted prenuptial agreement acts as a “script” for the divorce, minimizing conflict and uncertainty about how the case will be resolved.

Third, even if the parties don’t have a significant amount of assets, prenuptial agreements can be used to explicitly define what debts they are responsible for, such as credit card debt or student loans of the other party.

And last, the process of creating a prenuptial agreement forces both parties to carefully assess their relationship with the other person. It allows both parties to reasonably plan for a worst-case scenario at a time when they are not emotionally and financially vulnerable, as parties often are during divorce proceedings.

Prenuptial agreements can be highly detailed, or they can be limited to cover specific issues. Furthermore, postnuptial agreements can be drafted after the couple gets married. Many married couples will draft a postnuptial agreement if their marriage becomes troubled because they want more time while they decide what to do.


Source: The attorneys at Harris Family Law take pride in understanding the specifics of our client's legal matters.