Pre-marital and post-marital agreements can be used to define the rights and obligations associated with property but cannot affect a child’s right to support. Pre-marital agreements are perfect for people who are planning to remarry and wish to protect assets for the benefit of their children from an earlier marriage, for people to detail what property belongs to whom, as well as to outline the way in which a marriage will run, such as career sacrifices and responsibilities.

PRE-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS

Pre-marital agreements are created prior to marriage, and they become effective upon the marriage. Most people know that these types of agreements can keep someone from getting access to the funds of another; but they can be useful tools in outlining rules for your marriage, such as what roles both parties believe the other should play during the marriage.

POST-NUPTIAL AGREEMENTS

There are generally two types of post-marital agreements, partition/exchange agreements, and conversion agreements. The purpose of these documents is to either create community property from separate property or to create separate property from community property. Although more limited than pre-marital agreements, these can be used to define spouses’ rights and duties during the marriage.