Planning for Your Financial Future
Before Marriage
Getting married means building a life together. It also means combining—or intentionally deciding not to combine—certain aspects of your financial lives. A premarital agreement gives you and your future spouse an opportunity to talk openly about finances, understand the legal rights that come with marriage, and make your own decisions about how certain financial matters will be handled.
For some couples, a prenup is about protecting particular assets or a business. For others, it is simply about creating clarity and beginning the marriage with a shared understanding of their financial arrangements.
What Is a Premarital Agreement?
A premarital agreement, also known as a prenuptial agreement or prenup, is a written agreement between two people who plan to marry. It can establish how certain financial and property matters will be handled during the marriage and what will happen in the event of divorce or death.
Without a premarital agreement, California law generally determines each spouse’s rights and obligations. A prenup allows you and your future spouse to understand those rules and, within the limits of California law, make different agreements that reflect your own circumstances and priorities.
A premarital agreement can also create an opportunity to have important financial conversations before marriage—about assets, debts, income, expectations, and how you each think about your financial future.
Why Consider a Premarital Agreement?
People enter marriage with different financial circumstances, responsibilities, and goals. You may own a business or real estate, have significant assets or debt, expect to receive an inheritance, have children from a prior relationship, or want to preserve certain property as your own. You may also have very different incomes or career paths, or simply want greater clarity about how finances will be handled during your marriage.
You do not need to be wealthy or anticipate divorce to benefit from a premarital agreement. For many couples, the value is in understanding their financial circumstances and making intentional decisions together before they marry.
What Can a Prenup Address?
Depending on your circumstances and California law, a premarital agreement can address matters such as:
Separate and marital property
Existing and future debts
Business interests
Income and financial responsibilities
Certain rights to property acquired during marriage
Spousal support
Estate planning considerations
Financial rights and obligations upon divorce or death
Every premarital agreement is different. The terms should reflect your particular financial circumstances, priorities, and plans for the future.
Creating a Thoughtful and Legally Sound Agreement
A good premarital agreement begins with understanding what you want the agreement to accomplish. Jenna works with clients to identify the issues that matter to them, understand how California law would otherwise apply, and consider how different provisions may affect them both during the marriage and in the future.
The process also requires attention to more than the terms themselves. Financial disclosure, independent legal advice, adequate time for review, and the circumstances surrounding the negotiation and signing of the agreement can all be important to a premarital agreement’s enforceability.
The goal is to create an agreement that you understand, that accurately reflects your intentions, and that has been approached thoughtfully from the beginning.
When Should You Start a Prenup?
Earlier is better.
Waiting until shortly before the wedding can create unnecessary pressure and leave too little time for meaningful negotiation and independent legal review. Starting early gives you and your future spouse time to exchange financial information, discuss what you each want, consult with your respective attorneys, and work through any areas where you disagree.
A prenup is an important legal agreement. It should not feel like another item on the wedding checklist that needs to be completed at the last minute.
Work With Jenna Williams
Jenna Williams is a California family law attorney, mediator, and collaboratively trained divorce attorney. Her experience drafting and reviewing marital agreements, as well as working with clients when marriages end, gives her perspective on how the decisions made in a premarital agreement can affect spouses years later.
Jenna works with clients to understand their goals, explain their rights and options under California law, and create agreements tailored to their particular financial circumstances.
Whether you are initiating a premarital agreement or have been presented with one to review, Jenna can provide independent legal advice throughout the process.
Call Jenna Williams at 310-776-5519 or schedule a consultation online to discuss your premarital agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Premarital Agreements
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There is no difference. “Prenup” and “prenuptial agreement” are common terms for a premarital agreement. They all refer to a written agreement made before marriage addressing certain financial and property rights.
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It is best to start the process well before your wedding date. Starting early gives you both plenty of time to exchange financial information, review the proposed terms, get independent legal advice, and make informed decisions without unnecessary time pressure.
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Each of you should get independent legal advice before signing a premarital agreement. Attorneys cannot not represent both side and having your own attorney allows you to receive advice about how the agreement affects your individual rights.
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A premarital agreement requires both people to agree to its terms and sign the document voluntarily. If your future spouse has concerns about a prenup, discussing those concerns openly and allowing for adequate time to review the agreement can create an opportunity to find terms that work for both of you.