The excitement of courtship and pending nuptials can have many Texas couples caught up in a whirlwind of emotions and tasks. Picking the perfect venue and sampling the tastiest of cakes and entrees sometimes overshadows some of the seemingly small items on a very long to do list. One item that many couples overlook is the prenuptial agreement, as many see prenups as something only the wealthy do. To the contrary, a prenuptial agreement not only keeps the boundaries of individual finances before marriage well outlined, the contract also stipulates what other important assets each future spouse brings to the union.
In recent headlines, a few of Hollywood’s well-known actors and actresses have or are thinking about taking the plunge into marital bliss. For most of these celebrity couples, before the question is popped, a prenuptial agreement is discussed. With millions of dollars and the equivalent in property possibly becoming community assets, one could speculate that an alliance with this much accumulation of wealth needs to have a clear outline of who is bringing what to the marriage. But even without the excess of wealth, it is still important to have a clear picture of who is the rightful owner of specific individual assets prior to the marriage.
Many celebrities have a prenuptial in place to help ensure that, should the ties that bind be severed, they will remain in the same financial state as before the vows were spoken. For the rest of us, this may not equate to millions of dollars and oceanfront properties, but a small nest egg and a savings account that one may have spent years building. A prenuptial agreement will also help to protect the financial future of any children who are brought into the marriage from a previous relationship.
Regardless if one brings millions, thousands or hundreds into the union, the safe guard of a prenuptial agreement remains the same: to help ensure that each party leaves the dissolution of a marriage, should that occur, with the property and financial assets they accumulated individually. Each intended spouse could work with an attorney to help outline current and future financial concerns. With a prenuptial agreement in place, Texas courts will have less say over the division of assets in the event of divorce or death.
Source: nj.com, “Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez prepping for marriage, report says“, Joe Giglio, April 12, 2017