Website design By BotEap.comWe all know that planning a wedding, as exciting and wonderful as it may be, can be stressful. Preparing for a prenup often adds to that stress and can lead to emotional issues. The process you choose to create the agreement can make all the difference.

Website design By BotEap.comUsing mediation or a collaborative process can open the lines of communication, allow you and your partner to make your wishes known, and start the marriage on a firm footing. Instead of driving a wedge between you, it can bring you closer.

Website design By BotEap.comWhy mediation and collaborative law work so well? Both are models of open and honest communication.

Website design By BotEap.comInstead of one partner presenting the other with a redacted document ready to be signed, both take the time to discuss their wants and needs together. The process encourages each of you to talk openly about your finances, so that all money concerns are out in the open.

Website design By BotEap.comThe prenup can protect both of you: it can help ensure that the spouse with no money receives financial support and that the spouse with money can protect their assets in the event of death or divorce.

Website design By BotEap.comWho needs a prenuptial agreement?

Website design By BotEap.comIt used to be that prenups were reserved for the wealthy. But there are plenty of good reasons for the rest of us to consider putting together an agreement before getting married. These might be:

Website design By BotEap.com• To protect an inheritance that you (or your parents) want to insure remains in your biological family.

Website design By BotEap.com• To make sure your family’s business stays with your birth family.

Website design By BotEap.com• To make sure that both you and your fiancé receive financial support during the marriage if there is a large difference in income between the two of you.

Website design By BotEap.com• To make sure that you and your fiancé are protected from each other’s debts.

Website design By BotEap.com• If one of you has children from a previous marriage, make sure those children are financially protected.

Website design By BotEap.comUsing mediation for a prenuptial agreement

Website design By BotEap.comThe mediator meets with the couple and helps them create a space for open communication. This allows the couple to discuss everything that is most important to them, including their fears, expectations, and insecurities around money in the marriage. You can also use your sessions to talk about other topics, such as whether you will have children or where you will live. These are just some of the things you could discuss. The point is that this is a good time to tell your future about your hopes and dreams for your happy life together.

Website design By BotEap.comThe mediator remains a neutral party who helps guide the conversation, clarifies points, and helps you make decisions together. The mediator can help both of you deepen a conversation about sensitive topics. The mediator will then record your agreement in writing.

Website design By BotEap.comYou and your suitor will need your own lawyers to review the agreement before you sign it. You must have your own lawyer review it with you in order for the prenup to be enforceable.

Website design By BotEap.comUse of collaborative law for a prenuptial agreement

Website design By BotEap.comThe collaborative law process involves the couple and two collaborating attorneys, one for each party. Collaborative attorneys are trained in mediation skills to help guide the conversation and create a safe space for the couple to discuss their values ​​and goals, fears, and insecurities around money in the relationship. You can bring a neutral financial planner to help with the process.

Website design By BotEap.comCollaborating attorneys can answer legal questions and provide legal advice on the spot, which you can use to help you make decisions together. At the end of the process, an attorney will draft the agreement and you will both review it with your clients.

Website design By BotEap.comBoth mediation and the collaborative process keep you and your fiancé in the driver’s seat and help you create an agreement that fits your situation.

Website design By BotEap.comOther suggestions

Website design By BotEap.comWhat makes a good prenuptial agreement? The courts want to know that the agreement is fair and that you have signed the agreement with your eyes open. Here are some tips to ensure this:

Website design By BotEap.com• Start early. The sooner you start (and finish) the process, the better. Give yourself plenty of time to really think things through and gather all the information you need. A prenuptial agreement signed days before the wedding can be seen as coercive.

Website design By BotEap.com• Hire your own cooperating attorney or reviewer. Talk to that person alone. Be honest about your hopes and fears. Interview a few to see who you feel comfortable with.

Website design By BotEap.com• Be honest about your finances. The more open you are about what you have, the more you will protect yourself in the future.

Website design By BotEap.com• Watch carefully what your spouse tells you about his assets. Does that make sense, given what he knows about your expenses?

Website design By BotEap.com• Think about the agreement. It’s fair? Will he leave them both with enough to live on? To rebuild your life? Do you feel good?

Website design By BotEap.comConclution

Website design By BotEap.comBy opening up a conversation about finances and other sensitive topics before the start of a marriage, you can ensure that your goals and values ​​align with those of your future spouse. Having these potentially difficult conversations using mediation or the collaborative process can strengthen the agreement, make your discussions easier, and help your marriage start with open and honest communication and end happily ever after.