Prenuptial agreements may make property division easier

Getting divorced in California can have long-term negative financial impacts. This is why prenuptial agreements are growing in popularity. Here is a look at what prenuptial agreements, or prenups, involve and how they can help with property division during divorce.

A prenup is basically a contract that two people sign prior to getting married, and that becomes effective once they walk down the aisle. The benefit of this type of agreement is that two future spouses can decide not to go by the state’s laws concerning the splitting of debts and assets, along with alimony. In other words, they can dictate how they want these matters to be handled in the event that they get divorced.

Prenups are especially beneficial for individuals who have children from previous marriages. In these situations, prenups can help them to set money aside for the children separately. This is critical since any income generated during the marital union is legally both spouses’ property.

If two spouses never created a prenup before walking down the aisle, they can still put together a postnup after getting married. For spouses who get divorced with neither a prenup nor a postnup in place, they can still try to resolve their divorce issues at the negotiation table or through divorce mediation, thus avoiding further court intrusion. If they cannot work out their property division or other issues on their own, however, they must go to trial to have a judge decide the outcomes of these issues for them. In any of these scenarios, an attorney will push for the most personally favorable outcome for the client in California.