Cohabitation, Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements Text Size:

Do you believe that a cohabitation, prenuptial or postnuptial agreement will doom your relationship? The truth is that these written agreements can actually bring harmony to a relationship by addressing your concerns about financial issues. Ideally an agreement will provide certainty and help avoid the financial and emotional costs of legal action in the event of a breakup, divorce or death.

Cohabitation agreement

A cohabitation agreement is a written contract between a two people who have chosen to live together. A cohabitation agreement provides for each person's rights and obligations with respect to property and financial issues in the event of a breakup or death. Most states enforce cohabitation agreements between individuals but to make sure that the agreement will hold up in court, it would be best to consult an attorney in your state who is experienced in family and contract law.

Marital agreements

There are two types of martial agreements: a prenuptial agreement and a postnuptial agreement. Both of these types of written contracts set out the rules that will cover property rights if the marriage ends. The prenuptial agreements are sometimes called premarital, antenuptial or prenup agreements. The postnuptial agreements are sometimes called postmarital or postnup agreements.

Prenuptial agreements

A prenuptial agreement is entered into before marriage and it protects each person's interest in his or her own property and defines each person's rights to the property of the other person if they divorce or one of them dies. You may be considering a prenuptial agreement if you are about to enter into marriage. Deciding to have a prenuptial agreement can be looked at as an opportunity to communicate and make plans with your partner, rather than a hostile or adverse situation.

Postnuptial agreements

Postnuptial agreements are written contacts between spouses that are entered into after a couple is married. A postnuptial agreement sets out how the couple agrees to have property divided, spousal support determined and attorneys fees paid in the future if the marriage happens to end in divorce or one of the spouses dies. Postnuptial agreements are not as common as prenuptial agreements.

Benefits of cohabitation, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

The following are some of the benefits of having a cohabitation, prenuptial or postnuptial agreement:

• Allows individuals to determine in advance who will keep specific assets
• Can be used to guarantee the financially less secure partner a fair share of assets
• Can be used to compensate a partner for his or her role as a caretaker
• Allows the financially more secure party to limit financial loss in the event of a breakup or divorce
• Discloses expectations of the relationship, both financial and personal
• Allows couples to be open with one another about their finances
• Allows each partner to protect separate property so that it won't be considered a combined or joint asset if the relationship ends
• Allows each partner to keep their individual debts so that one partner will not be responsible for the debts of the other partner if the relationship terminates
• Can provide for children from a prior marriage
• Avoid legal battles over property issues in the event the relationship ends

Questions for your attorney

If you and your partner decide to have a cohabitation, prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, you will want to have a lawyer, who is experienced in family law and estate planning law, draft or at least help you draft your agreement so that it follows the laws for your state and will hold up in court. It is important that each of you have a lawyer so that each person will have their interests represented without conflicts of interest.

Some questions that you may want to ask your lawyer:

• What should be covered in the cohabitation, prenuptial or postnuptial agreement?
• What are the consequences of our agreement in the event of a breakup, divorce or death?
• How do prenuptial and postnuptial agreements differ from a marital settlement agreement and separation agreements in a divorce?
• Is it absolutely necessary to have lawyers on both sides of a cohabitation, prenuptial or postnuptial agreement?

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