You likely made a prenuptial agreement (prenup) before marriage to protect your assets if there was ever a divorce. Your marriage has been going steadily for the past several years and you and your spouse have built up your estate.
You may have noticed that your prenup doesn’t cover all of your new assets. So what can you do about that? Should you make a new prenup? Here’s what you should know:
Postnuptial agreements can be used to revise prenups
Prenups are specifically made before a marriage begins. That being said, that doesn’t mean you can’t protect new assets acquired during the marriage. One option to protect any new assets you’ve gained since marriage is to create a postnuptial agreement (postnup).
A postnup works much the same way as a prenup, but instead of being made before marriage, it’s made during the marriage. Created properly, they can essentially redefine the agreement between a couple to suit their changing needs.
What new assets would cause someone to consider getting a postnup?
Sometimes spouses will gain a large sum of money during the marriage. Their newly found wealth may have been from an inheritance or pure luck from a lottery ticket. Sudden, and often unexpected assets may cause someone to redefine their asset protection.
Alternatively, a prenup may establish how assets are distributed if you die. This may ensure children from another marriage are ensured some inheritance.
If you’re unsure how to follow through with a postnup, you may need to ask for legal help to better know your options. Prenups and postnups are some of the best ways to guard against an unfair split in a divorce, so they’re definitely worth investigating.