Common Conditions in Postnuptial Agreements in New Jersey
If you are considering making a postnuptial agreement with your spouse, there is likely a reason that you are taking this legal step. One of you may have acquired substantial assets by gift or inheritance since the beginning of the marriage. You may have started a business. There may be problems within the marriage and you want to create an agreement that makes the divorce process more efficient. Some people use the postnuptial agreement as a way to set certain financial expectations for the marriage, in hopes that it will help the marriage to continue.
Whatever your reason for seeking legal assistance with a postnuptial agreement, there are common conditions in postnuptial agreements in New Jersey that we see in the practice of family law. If you would like to know more about postnuptial agreements, please schedule a consultation with our postnuptial agreements attorneys.
Conditions in Postnuptial Agreements Concerning Assets
Postnuptial agreements usually state how assets should be divided between spouses in the event of divorce. These assets often include real property. For instance, if a couple owns a rental property, it is common for a New Jersey postnuptial agreement to state how the property and the income from the property will be divided if the marriage ends in divorce.
Inheritance Conditions in Postnups
Who will inherit what assets upon the death of one or both spouses can be a hot topic, especially if there were children from a previous marriage. Settling inheritance questions is one of the most common conditions in New Jersey postnuptial agreements. A properly executed agreement can dictate how the spouses will draft their last wills and testaments to state how their assets will be divided upon the death of a spouse. This will protect the assets that each spouse wishes to pass to their children from a previous marriage and cause much less confusion during a stressful and emotional time.
Sharing Responsibility for Debt
Many people fail to realize that postnuptial agreements are not always about how to divide assets in a fair and equitable way. Postnuptial agreements can also be used to determine how responsibility for repayment of debt will be allocated between the spouses in the event of divorce. If one spouse incurred more debt than the other during the marriage, a postnuptial agreement can ensure responsibility for repayment of the debt remains with the spouse who incurred it. Likewise, a couple may agree in a postnuptial agreement to share responsibility for repayment of debt, no matter which spouse’s name the debt is in.
Determining Spousal Support in a Postnuptial Agreement
A couple can also use a postnuptial agreement to set conditions for any spousal support that may be included as part of the divorce. A postnuptial agreement can dictate how long the couple must remain married as a condition for spousal support. A postnuptial agreement can also determine how much spousal support will be paid or how it will be calculated. A postnuptial agreement can also state that one spouse will pay alimony to the other spouse in the event of divorce.
Talk to a New Jersey Attorney About Common Postnuptial Agreement Conditions
A family law lawyer can help you decide what conditions you need in your postnuptial agreement. Whether you are looking for a way to clarify property division, inheritance matters, debt, or spousal support, Moskowitz Law Group will ensure that your postnuptial agreement is clearly and properly drafted.
If you are wondering if you and your spouse could benefit from a postnuptial agreement and what the conditions of the agreement should be, schedule a free case evaluation. We are happy to answer your questions about postnuptial agreements.
