18 Prenup Agreement Pros and Cons (Prenuptial Agreements)

In recent years, an increasing number of people have used the conclusion of a prenuptial agreement to guarantee the avoidance of future problems.

For many couples, especially during a period of passionate love, it seems that the conclusion of a prenup agreement is prosaic, belittling their feelings and bringing divorce closer. 

However, the prenup agreement even strengthens feelings. Indeed, property disputes often become a stumbling block for spouses, and if everything is determined in advance, there is no need to quarrel.

The fear of the term “prenuptial agreement” is one of its few disadvantages. The second minus – the document, of course, will not be able to keep the spouse from infidelity. 

Everything else is more of a plus. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of a prenuptial agreement.

Pros of Prenup Agreement

A prenup agreement is a premarital agreement between persons planning to get married or future spouses.

It aims to determine each spouse’s property rights and obligations, both in marriage and after dissolution. Here are the advantages of a prenup agreement:

1. Draw the contract anytime

You can draw up the prenup agreement before entering into marriage and throughout the entire time while the persons are married. 

If the conclusion of the marriage contract is made before the marriage registration, it becomes valid at the time of the state registration. 

Suppose the decision to conclude a marriage contract is made by spouses already married. In that case, the conclusion of such a contract is recognized as the moment of its certification by a notary.

2. Resolving property issues

Since this marital agreement regulates the property relations between the spouses based on financial situations, the subject of the legal contract is the property, both joint and separate property spouses.

So, you will be able to indicate that, for example, in your agreement, in case of a future divorce, the wife will take all household appliances, and the husband will get the garage. 

When concluding a marriage contract, the spouses may change the joint ownership regime established by the Family Code. 

They have the right to establish a separate and shared ownership regime regarding all property, certain types, and property belonging to each spouse. The law allows spouses to include in the marriage contract any conditions relating to their property relations, including:

• The procedure and methods for incurring family expenses
• The procedure for maintaining financial responsibilities to each other (both in marriage and after its dissolution)
• Determination of the property transferred to each of the spouses upon dissolution of marriage
• Other conditions that do not contradict the provisions of the Family Code and other legislative acts

3. Avoiding possible future disputes

Since this document is not binding and is drawn up only by mutual consent of the spouses, the parties will likely be able to define it clearly and, if necessary, defend their position before its conclusion. And this is a guarantee that the spouses can avoid property disputes in the future. 

4. Reducing personality disagreement

The possibility of divorce between the couple is due to personality disagreement. Dating and getting married are different. The same is true even if you live together before marriage.

When it comes to living together as a family, we have to face, think and decide on various things we did not face during dating.

Since many couples get married without discussing such post-marriage conditions deeply, it may be the first time after marriage that they find they do not match the other person’s thoughts and values, leading to the event of divorce.

When making a prenuptial agreement, how to share housework and childcare, bear living expenses, save money, and whether to continue working after pregnancy and childbirth are discussed in detail. 

By creating a prenuptial agreement, you can deepen your understanding of the other person by matching each other’s opinions, thoughts, and values. You can reduce the situation where you notice a personality disagreement after marriage. 

5. Peaceful marriage

Discussing various things while drawing the contract and finding a compromise when the idea is not the same can eliminate the causes of quarreling in advance.

By discussing the matter and making the rules convinced by each other into a legal document, you will be conscious of checking the contract contents each time and keeping the contract.

By creating a prenuptial agreement, you can expect to reduce quarrels between husband and wife and keep the couple happy.

6. Protection of property after marriage

Writing a clause that protects your property before marriage is common in prenuptial agreements.

In the unlikely event of a divorce, property sharing will occur, and the property of the two must be evenly divided.

If one of them is a wealthy person such as a business owner and owns a tremendous amount of property before marriage, splitting by property distribution may result in having to pay a considerable amount of money at the time of divorce.

Prenuptial agreements are standard in the West because they are contracts to protect this property.

To protect your personal property in the event of a divorce, you should clearly state your property in your prenuptial agreement.

7. Ability to independently dispose of properties

Without the consent of the second half, it is the ability to dispose of their property belonging by the marriage contract independently. 

For example, the marriage contract stipulates that the spouse has the right to own a non-residential building, which he decides to sell or rent. 

In this case, the spouse’s consent is not required; it will be enough to attach a marriage contract.

8. Distribution of income and Expenses

The marriage contract can provide for the distribution of income and expenses of the family, including the family’s financial obligations in the future. 

The contract allows you to paint everything thoroughly: what income is joint and personal; What and where will the money be spent? Who will pay utility bills, and who will buy groceries? And so on. 

And this is the obvious plus of the marriage contract, since in this way, unjustified mutual expectations, claims, and reproaches, which often cause a break in relations, are removed!

9. Regulation of Debt Obligation

Another advantage of the prenup agreement is the ability to provide for the regulation of debt obligations, including payments on loans. 

For example, if a married couple makes out the purchase of an apartment on a mortgage, then the marriage contract can provide that payments are made by one of the spouses, while the apartment will belong to both based on joint ownership; or immediately determine the size of the shares of each. 

In the future, this will avoid mutual claims of the parties upon the loan payment.

10. Obligation to support Disabled Spouse

A prenuptial agreement can provide for the obligation to support a disabled spouse. Here we are talking about how to set the payment amount, frequency, and terms. 

This opportunity allows the disabled spouse to feel more confident and not worry about the relationship between the spouses during the divorce period.

Cons of Prenup Agreement

Of course, there are no ideal solutions for all occasions. And the prenuptial agreement, like any phenomenon, has its opposing sides. Therefore, now we will discuss the disadvantages of the marriage contract:

1. High Fees of Attorney

Whether the costs incurred for a marriage contract are an advantage or a disadvantage cannot be said with certainty, but this depends above all on how amicably the spouses actually separate. 

Because a War of the Roses can cause high costs, depending on how long the disputes drag on and how much maintenance is due later.

Attorney fees for the prenup can run into a few thousand dollars per attorney, depending on the fee schedule and the asset value. The attorney fee can range from $2000 to $6000 per person.

Also crucial for the calculation is a factor that depends on how complicated the contract is.

Notary fees are much more modest. They also depend on the asset and a factor, usually a few hundred dollars.

It must also be considered if something suddenly needs to be changed in the marriage contract or supplemented. 

Changes and additions will have to be made through the conclusion of an additional agreement, and it must also be certified by a notary for a fee.

2. Maybe aware of divorce even before marriage

Depending on the content of the prenuptial agreement, the couple can decide the conditions for divorce in advance.

It depends on the couple, but it is included in a general prenuptial agreement.

You may find yourself at a disadvantage because you must be aware of the divorce before getting married.

3. You can see the true nature of the other person before getting married

Prenuptial agreements also reflect each other’s values. Of course, it is often better to know before marriage than after marriage. Still, sometimes it becomes possible to understand the other person’s nature that was not visible until now, which can work negatively.

For example, you may see aspects you didn’t know about, such as your partner doesn’t want a child in the future, they actually have a lot of debt, or they are stingy than you think.

Quite a few couples break the deal by creating a prenuptial agreement, so be careful when creating it.

4. Marriage feels like a contract and is psychologically difficult to accept

It is also a disadvantage that you feel that “your marriage is a contract.” Pre-marriage couples want to be together because they like it.

However, some may not accept the fact that they contract and get married. Prenuptial agreements have not penetrated many people because there is a tendency not to think of marriage as a contract.

5. Possibility of ambiguous wording in the drafting of the contract

When drawing up a prenuptial agreement, it is crucial to follow clear language. Otherwise, different interpretations and ambiguous phrases may lead to contract disputes and litigation.

This disadvantage is easily overcome with the help of competent lawyers who can be involved in the preparation of a marriage contract. 

6. Necessary to follow legislation reforms

For the transaction not to be declared invalid in the future, it is necessary to follow the reforms in the legislation and the regularity of the items indicated in the database and make changes to it promptly.

7. Domestic Litigation not included

You can only settle property relations in advance through a prenup agreement, which you can express in monetary terms. 

Domestic legislation does not allow to include in the document items relating to household duties, responsibility for treason, or insults, to determine with whom the child will remain after the divorce.

8. Chance of Distrust and Misconception

The other disadvantage of a prenuptial agreement is that you may have difficulty convincing your partner to make this agreement. It is because not everyone is familiar with this type of agreement and may think that this agreement actually creates boundaries between husband and wife.

Your partner can consider this prenuptial agreement as preparation for dealing with divorce. Or think you don’t believe you can keep your marriage well, especially regarding property and the family’s economy. 

You and your partner need to discuss this prenuptial agreement long before marriage. The long time you have before the wedding date is used to discuss this in-depth. 

It’s best if you want to consult a financial expert to provide complete information to your partner. By presenting an expert, who knows, the partner’s mind can be more open to this agreement that this agreement is not only for one person’s good but also for the good of both. 

If your partner is unwilling to make this prenuptial agreement, you cannot force him to follow your wishes because this agreement can only be made with couples who already have a mutual agreement. 

Quick Summary Pros and Cons of Prenup Agreement

Pros	Cons
Regulate the marital property regime, maintenance claims, and pension equalization individually	One party may be disadvantaged due to failure to recognize the scope of the regulations at the time of conclusion.
Subject to applicable law and must be notarized.	The cost of attorneys to draw the agreement is $2000 to $6000 per person
Can be concluded at different points in time	Reform with legislation needed
Suitable for entrepreneurs, people with different levels of wealth, those in employment without children, people of different nationalities, and couples who are getting married at an older age	Offensive for some, especially young brides or grooms who are currently in love
Makes a potential divorce quicker and less painful	Potential divorce in mind can have a negative psychological impact
Prevent you from having to sell property, such as real estate or even a business, to pay off your partner	A more authoritarian spouse can force the other half to sign the contract the way he needs
Maintenance claims or pension rights adjustments are settled more efficiently, as long as the regulations are not immoral	Does not cover all aspects of a marriage relationship Regulates exclusively material matters

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Thus, we can conclude that the conclusion of a prenup agreement does not guarantee the resolution of all disagreements between spouses during marriage and divorce. Still, it reduces the likelihood of lengthy litigation on property issues.

(Last Updated on August 18, 2022)