Legal Professionals of Hirsch & Ehlenberger

Countering common prenup myths

On Behalf of | Aug 2, 2022 | Prenups and Postnups

Prenuptial agreements, by some accounts, growing more popular. But there are still a lot of people who don’t know exactly how these agreements work or why they would be used.

Part of the problem is that there are myths that are often repeated about prenups, which people may have heard. It’s important to counter some of these myths so that you know exactly where you stand if you’re considering using a prenuptial agreement.

You can make it whenever you want

Timing is important with a prenuptial agreement. You can’t just do it whenever you want, and this means that you especially cannot put it off. If your partner doesn’t have time to read the agreement before signing it, or if having to sign it too close to the wedding pressures them to do so, then your prenup may get thrown out of court.

You can put anything in it that you want

You’re also not allowed to put just anything in a prenup, which could invalidate it. For instance, nothing that you add to the prenup can be illegal. You also can’t add anything about child custody decisions. Prenuptial agreements are supposed to just be used for financial agreements and nothing else.

It means that you want to get divorced

This myth is one of the reasons that people don’t use prenups. They think that it’s a way of telling their partner that they want to get a divorce. But this is simply not true at all. A lot of people who get prenuptial agreements just want the security in case of a divorce, but it’s not as if the document itself causes them to get that divorce.

You missed your chance if you’re already married

Technically, you did miss your chance to get a prenuptial agreement. By definition, this has to happen before the marriage. But you can still use a postnuptial agreement. In many ways, this is the same type of document and can offer you the same protections as long as you and your spouse agree to sign it.

If you are interested in setting up a prenup or a postnup, be sure you know exactly what steps to take.

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