NEW YORK– Celebrities may not have been shocked when Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck, but what was surprising was that Lopez’s divorce filing made no mention of a prenuptial agreement.
A prenuptial agreement is a legal document for prospective couples that sets out how they will divide their assets during their marriage and if they divorce. They’re common among celebrities and very wealthy couples, but divorce lawyer Raiford Dalton Palmer says you should consider one even if you don’t have a lot of money.
“Marriages aren’t just for rich people,” said Palmer, managing shareholder of STG Divorce Law. “They can be very important for people who don’t have that much money, because every dollar spent on attorney fees is a dollar you can’t spend on your children or on yourself.”
If you are getting married soon, you need to know the following about prenuptial agreements:
When approaching the topic with your partner, timing is critical. Family law attorney Linda J. Ravdin recommends that you have the conversation as early as possible and not wait until you are halfway through organizing your wedding.
“Once they start talking about marriage, the person who wants the prenup has to say something,” Ravdin said.
It is also important to be aware of your state’s deadline to file a prenuptial agreement. For example, California has a seven-day rule, which means that one person must submit a preliminary prenuptial agreement for seven days before the other person can sign it. This is to ensure that the other person has enough time to review the document.
Talking about a prenuptial agreement can be especially difficult because it involves complete transparency about your finances. To avoid conflict or hurt feelings, attorney Julia Rodgers recommends approaching the conversation with caution.
“It’s as much an emotional document as it is a legal document,” says Rodgers, CEO of Hello Prenup, an online prenuptial agreement platform.
Rodgers recommends discussing why you want a prenup and your fears surrounding it. A common reason why young people want a prenup is because they see how difficult their parents’ divorces were.
Discuss what assets you have and how you will divide them if you divorce. This is also the time to have important conversations about expectations during your wedding.
Rodgers recommends asking the following questions:
– Do you want children? If so, will both people continue to work?
— If you don’t want children, what kind of lifestyle do you want?
– Do you want to buy or rent a house?
– How often do you want to take a long vacation?
– What type of debts do you have?
— Do you want to open a business in the future?
Prenuptial agreements can be equated with estate planning, Palmer said. Couples don’t get married expecting a divorce, but planning in case it does happen can save them headaches and money.
“It really suits people who want to make a divorce less painful and less expensive and who want to protect their assets,” Palmer said.
With or without a prenuptial agreement, a divorce costs a lot of time and money. But having a prenuptial agreement can facilitate discussions about the division of assets, alimony and debts. However, prenuptial agreements do not include child support or other topics related to children.
A common misconception about prenuptial agreements is that they benefit the higher-earning spouse, but this is not true, Rodgers said. Because prenuptial agreements are drafted by both parties, along with their respective attorneys, they ideally protect both spouses.
Prenuptial agreements are not only useful if the couple divorces. Because they record finances and future planning, they can also be used to outline the expectations of both parties during the marriage and at death.
If you don’t have a prenuptial agreement, what happens when you get divorced depends on the law in your state. Each state has standard laws that govern how the division of property in divorces is handled. These laws typically attempt to divide assets equally, but that’s not always the case, Palmer said.
Any debts or new property acquired during the marriage would also be divided according to state law.
“If you take on student debt during your marriage, that student debt can be considered marital or community property, depending on the state you are in,” Rodgers said.
In some states, such as California, couples are required to split their assets in half if they do not have a prenuptial agreement. In other states, such as Iowa and Colorado, the distribution will be proportional but not equal. In these states, aspects such as earning potential and financial needs are often taken into account.
Once you are ready to draft a prenuptial agreement, you will all need an attorney to help you write or review it.
Ravdin first asks clients to complete a worksheet where they can record what they are looking for in the prenuptial agreement and use this as a blueprint for the concept.
“Once it’s clear what they want or what is acceptable to both of them, I can go ahead and draft the agreement,” Ravdin said.
The price of the prenuptial agreement process depends on your state and your attorney. In many cases, prenuptial agreements start at $1,000.
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The Associated Press receives support from the Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
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This story has been updated to correct the name of the law firm. It is the STG Divorce Act, not the STJ Divorce Act.
