How Prenuptial Agreements Can Affect Estate Planning

If you pass away before your spouse and do not have a prenuptial agreement in place, he or she will have almost complete control over your estate and possessions. This is not necessarily a problem in some cases, but in other cases you may wish to maintain some element of control over what happens to your possessions and your share of the estate.

A prenuptial agreement can provide you with this control. Here’s what you should know.

Prenups as a tool in your estate plan

Say, for example, you each have children from former relationships. Without a prenuptial agreement in place, your spouse could potentially be able to leave all of the assets assets inherited from you to his or her children, meaning yours would not get anything. Therefore, if you wish to reserve part of your estate specifically for your children, it is a good idea to leave these wishes in a prenuptial agreement in addition to your will.

When establishing a prenuptial agreement, keep in mind that both parties should fully disclose all of their income, assets and debts, and each party should have their own legal representation before the agreement can be signed. The prenup can waive some rights provided by law, in addition to identifying separate property brought into the marriage, state the funds from some sources will belong to either or both parties and outline how spouses will spend certain portions of money during the marriage.

For more information about how prenuptial agreements can be used in your estate planning, contact a trusted Tampa estate planning attorney at BaumannKangas Estate Law.