Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements

Marriage is not only a public statement of a couple's emotional commitment, but a powerful legal and economic relationship.  At Law Offices of Angela I. Green, LLC and CT Mediation Center, we help clients establish peace of mind and thoughtful planning through premarital agreements and post-marital agreements. The process of crafting a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is an exercise in money management and financial planning that provides more than just economic benefits to the couple involved.  We have drafted prenuptial agreements for people just starting out in their careers, those on their second marriage and for financially established individuals.

For some couples, especially those entering into second marriages, Prenuptial Agreements are an extremely helpful way to take care of financial and estate planning issues.   Generally, a Prenuptial Agreement is held to be valid if entered into freely and voluntarily by the parties, if each party was vigorously represented by a lawyer prior to signing the agreement, and if the pre-nuptial agreement is when it is signed by the parties.

What should a Pre-Nuptial Agreement contain?

PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS should address how you divide the property during the eventuality of a divorce with provisions on how to divide property if there is a divorce later. Sometimes there are disappearing or “sunset” provisions so that the longer one is married the more blended the couple’s financial resources are allowed to be.

PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS should address in detail the pre marriage (pre-marital) assets that one of the spouses wishes to keep in case of divorce. Similarly, the agreement should identify items or assets that can be blended and are not separate.  Does all income earned by the parties after the marriage will be shared somehow? Sometimes increases in retirement benefits and other assets after the marriage are shared by the couple, sometimes they are saved for their respective children.  If one party moves into the other party’s home, there might be provisions regarding what happens to the house and a spouse’s occupancy after divorce or death.  Each prenuptial agreement should be specifically designed for the needs and values of the two parties.

Another area addressed by PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS is what happens after the death of either party. Generally, parties want to protect each other, but also want to protect their children from the previous marriage. There is usually some allocation between the surviving spouse and the party’s own children, depending on the surviving spouse’s ability to take care of him/herself after the death.

Some PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS purposely leave out some issues in the Agreement. This is to allow the couple to build an area of “marital venture” that is uncertain and almost entrepreneurial. These areas tend to positively feed a marriage. And if there is a divorce, absent agreement, these issues are left to the agreement of the parties to resolve.

“Off-the-shelf” PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS do a great disservice to the parties and to the marriage itself and may not be correct of adequate in light of recent case law. If you would like to speak with one of our attorneys about a premarital agreement, please contactour office to make arrangements for a complimentary consultation.

Who will benefit from a prenuptial agreement?

Not every couple needs a prenuptial agreement, but every couple can benefit from learning about mutual problem-solving and financial planning that leads to the security provided by a prenuptial agreement. We draft and review Prenuptial Agreement contracts to serve a wide range of purposes, including the following:

• Protecting children from a previous marriage
• Preserving assets that without a prenuptial agreement would become part of the marital estate
• Defining the way in which assets accumulated before marriage, including an interest in a home or business, will be kept separate from distributed in the event the marriage ends
• Defining limits to the amount and duration of alimony (spousal support) in the event of legal separation or divorce
• Establishing a way to handle future disputes over money and practical matters during the marriage
• Establishing the terms of a domestic partnership agreement

When should a premarital agreement be drafted?

Drafting your prenuptial agreement as far in advance of your wedding as possible is imperative. Not only does this allow more time to thoughtfully work out the terms of the agreement, but also an agreement signed six months before the wedding is seen by the court as a stronger contract than one signed right before the wedding ceremony. For that reason, it is critically important that, if you are negotiating a prenuptial agreement a short time before your wedding, you work with experienced legal counsel.

Postnuptial Case Law in Connecticut

More and more couples who wish to stay in their marriages are exploring the possibility of entering into a Postnuptial Agreement. These are agreements that usually relate to the financial issues of a mature marriage in which the couple is experiencing a stress, but wishes to maintain the marriage and not divorce.

In Connecticut postnuptial agreements are legal, but must meet certain conditions to be enforceable. It is important to emphasize however, that we do not have numerous case law in Connecticut to provide comprehensive guide for drafting postnuptial agreements.  Similarly, there are no statutes such as for Prenuptial agreements. A recent Supreme Court of Connecticut case on postnuptial agreements, Bedrick v. Bedrick, 300 Conn. 691 (Conn. 2011), provides information on what these agreements should contain to meet the fairness requirement imposed by law.

An excellent way to proceed in drafting postnuptial agreements is through mediation, where the mediator helps the couple negotiate the terms.

Prenuptial Case Law in Connecticut

For more information and understanding on where the where the case law in Connecticut stands on Prenuptial Agreements, read some of decisions on pre-nuptial agreements:

Friezo v. Friezo, 281 Conn. 166, 204, 914 A.2d 533 (2007).

Dornemann v. Dornemann, 48 Conn. Sup. 502, 521, 850 A.2d 273 (2004);

Linger v. Sadowski, No. FA 01-0728258, Judicial District of Hartford at Hartford, 2002 WL 1492257 (May 31, 2002);

Wilkes v. Wilkes, 55 Conn. App. 313, 319-320, 738 A.2d 758 (1999)

CONNECTICUT GENERAL  STATATUTES addressing Connecticut Premarital Agreements

§ 46b-36a. Short title: Connecticut Premarital Agreement Act

§ 46b-36b. Definitions

§ 46b-36c. Form of premarital agreement

§ 46b-36d. Content of premarital agreement

§ 46b-36e. Effect of marriage on premarital agreement

§ 46b-36f. Amendment or revocation of premarital agreement after marriage

§ 46b-36g. Enforcement of premarital agreement

§ 46b-36h. Enforcement of premarital agreement when marriage void

§ 46b-36i. Statute of limitation re-claims under premarital agreement

§ 46b-36j. Premarital agreements made prior to October 1, 1995, not affected