Did you recently get engaged, perhaps over Valentine’s Day? If so, congratulations!
As you start planning your wedding, it’s also important to start planning your life together. Make creating a prenuptial agreement part of that planning. While it seems unromantic at first, at Sandia Family Law we can tell you that having a prenuptial agreement actually strengthens your marriage.
How Prenuptial Agreement Can Strengthen Your Marriage
Arguments over finances are famously quoted as being the #1 reason that marriages fail. That’s because financial issues are difficult to talk about, and most people wait until they are years into the marriage to discuss them—usually when there is a problem.
A prenuptial agreement can strengthen you marriage by having both parties lay their entire financial picture out on the table before marriage takes place. The skills you build discussing financial issues now will make them much easier to talk about after marriage. This also builds trust as you both enter the marriage with eyes wide open.
Don’t Let New Mexico Divorce Laws be Your Prenup!
Even if you do not create a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage, you already have once in place once your marriage takes place. Think of New Mexico divorce laws as your default prenuptial agreement. Since New Mexico is a community property state, with very few exceptions, all assets and debts accrued during your marriage would be divided equitably upon divorce. Rather than letting a judge divide assets, a prenuptial agreement gives you and your spouse more control over the outcome.
Take Stock of Your Assets and Debts
Now that you’re engaged, you need to take stock of your own assets and debts. Make a list. If you later decide to divorce, you will want to leave the marriage with everything that you brought. This includes any significant assets, including retirement accounts, stocks, jewelry, expensive instruments, furniture, vehicles, etc.
It can be complicated determining which assets were yours before the marriage after so many years of intermingling finances. By determining which were yours upon the marriage, you make it much easier to identify your personal assets in the event your marriage fails.
Albuquerque Prenuptial Agreement Attorneys
You want to hire an attorney who handles prenuptial agreements in a sensitive manner. At Sandia Family Law, our Albuquerque, New Mexico prenuptial agreement attorneys can help you create an agreement that strengthens your marriage and your finances. To find out if a prenuptial agreement is right for you and your spouse, contact us at 505-247-1726 for a FREE consultation.