Prenuptial Agreement Attorneys Jacksonville

What is a Prenup or Postnup?
Is a Prenup or Postnup only for the rich and the famous?
If a party is divorced with children, is there a benefit in having a Prenup for the second marriage?
How to challenge the validity of the Prenup or Postnup?

A Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreement is a written contract, a marital agreement, created, approved and signed by each party. It provides a legal means by which the parties can address any substantive rights, issues, concerns and predetermine the outcome by agreement, NOW, while heads are cool rather than in the process of divorce and/or litigation.

The Prenup or Postnup Can Identify, Divide, and Distribute Financial Resources:

The parties can actually specify and decide many issues dealing with their financial resources and family interest, such as:

  • The identification and division of non-marital properties to be protected including:
    • prior assets,
    • the premarital estate, and
    • inheritance; as well as
  • Identification and division of business assets acquired prior to the marriage;
  • The identification and determination of marital properties; and
  • How the marital properties are to be divided now and in the future, including:
    • Division of property, both real and personal

The Prenuptial or Postnuptial Can Resolve Family Issues:

In regard to the family issues, the couple can provide the terms for specific rights or choices, such as:

  • The terms for temporary support for the spouse
    in the event of separation or divorce;
  • The terms, types, and amount of alimony;
  • The modification of family support/alimony;
  • The responsibility for payment of attorney fees;
  • The terms for the equitable distribution of property;
  • The terms for the disbursement of each parties’ estate,
    including the choice for the elective share, and
    other issues concerning each parties’ estate; and
  • The protection of the rights of each parties’ children by an earlier marriage.

Not Just for the Rich and Famous:

The terms agreed to and authored by the parties in a prenuptial agreement can serve to protect all estates, small and large, from the devastating effects of divorce.

For the Party Previously Divorced With Children:

A prenuptial agreement can identify, preserve, and protect the interest of the children from a prior marriage, or inheritance. The assets from the previous estate may include many of the following: the ownership of the marital home; certain real estate; individual intangible properties, such as: stocks, mutual funds, and retirement accounts; and tangible properties, such as jewelry, furniture and furnishings, and vehicles. In other words, it acts to preserve the parties’ assets and keep marital claims from diluting the assets allocated and preserved for the children of the earlier marriage.

Marital Property vs. Non-Marital Property

A prenuptial agreement can specify what properties are included in the marital properties to be divided upon the divorce or death of either party, as well as, what properties are non-marital and not to be included in the marital estate.

Further, a prenuptial agreement can remove marital claims specifically from one or both parties’ previous business interests and assets, as well as, current interests and assets, and future interests and assets.

What Determines the Validity of the Marital Agreement?

  • Examination of the circumstances under which the agreement was signed;
  • Examination of evidence of fraud, duress, coercion, or misrepresentation; and
  • Examination of whether there was full disclosure.

How to Set Aside the Marital Agreement?

A spouse may be successful in setting aside the prenuptial agreement by establishing that it was reached under duress, with a scenario such as the following:

The wedding invitations were mailed eight weeks ago; the bride’s dress was bought one year ago; the deposits, the full and nonrefundable costs for the reception have been paid; and the night of the rehearsal dinner, the groom comes in with a “must sign” prenuptial for the bride, who has no time to get a lawyer or even carefully read the document. Thus, in a case such as this, the Court would be addressing the circumstances at the time the parties signed the agreement.

Other ways to successfully challenge and set aside the agreement are when one party can prove fraud, coercion, misrepresentation, overreaching or failure to fully disclose financial information. A scenario, such as: one spouse “forgets” to tell the other about their second fortune and the fact that he/she owns an island in the Caribbean worth twenty million, after the agreement for future alimony and child support have been established in the agreement is an example of inadequate disclosure and fraud.

The prenuptial agreement can be a very powerful tool in protecting the rights and assets of couples entering into a marriage, if it is prepared carefully, thoughtfully, and correctly. Please call us at Treece & Treece to discuss the rights and property interests you wish to protect, including issues of co-habitation and domestic partnership agreements. We heartily endorse the use of prenuptial agreements as a constructive, beneficial means of thoughtfully and carefully controlling the disposition of one’s property and family matters.

Contact Clause

If you are seeking an informed analysis of your family situation, advice regarding your legal rights, and guidance resolving these issues, please contact Treece & Treece at (904) 737-1771 or email us at treecelaw@bellsouth.net to schedule a consultation.

We serve clients in Jacksonville, Duval County, Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Augustine, St. John’s County, Fernandina, Yulee, Amelia Island, Nassau County; MacClenny, Glen St. Mary, Sanderson, Taylor, Baker County, Green Cove Springs, Kingsley Lake, Clay County, Starke, and Bradford County.

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