Why you need a prenup even if you don’t own anything

 Posted on October 15, 2019 in Family Law

The best time to talk about a prenuptial agreement is, quite frankly, when you have no intention of needing one. It can be difficult, however, to see the point of a prenup when you’re young, broke and running mostly on dreams.

It’s those dreams you need to protect.

While prenups used to be exclusively the domain of the ultra-wealthy seeking to protect their trust funds and family money and older people on their second marriages, that’s changed. Prenups today are the most important things that entrepreneurs (especially those in high-yield fields, like the tech industry) can have if they should end up unhappily wed.

A well-done prenup can insulate you from a number of the hazards of divorce:

• It can clearly define who owns any intellectual property rights (including business ideas).
• It can prevent you from having to split your shares of a business with your spouse (and inadvertently ending up involuntary business partners together once you’re divorced).
• It can reassure potential investors that your divorce, should you have one, won’t be a financial liability.
• It can actually help you establish a deeper sense of trust with your intended spouse (because you both have to put all your “financial cards” on the table when writing the prenup).

Finally, having a prenup does something else important if you do find yourself facing a divorce: It can help you avoid diverting too much of your time, attention, energy and resources toward the kinds of legal complications that a divorce brings.

Keep in mind that prenups have to be written carefully in order to be valid. If you’re thinking ahead to the future and you want to discuss a prenup, our office may be able to help.