For whatever reason, you and your spouse may have decided to forgo establishing a prenuptial agreement before you tied the knot. But now, as you are years deep into your marriage, you may look back and regret not giving yourself that financial protection. This feeling may be regardless of whether or not you anticipate a future divorce from one another. Well, a postnuptial agreement may still be an option at your disposal. For this, please continue reading to learn whether postnuptial agreements are still valid, enforceable, and effective, and how an experienced Morristown prenuptial agreement lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can help you and your spouse execute one.
Are postnuptial agreements valid and enforceable in New Jersey?
Simply put, as per the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, both prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are legally binding contracts in the state of New Jersey. The only difference may be, as the names suggest, that prenuptial agreements must be created before a marriage and postnuptial agreements afterwards. With that being said, below are the requirements that both types of contracts must follow to be considered valid and enforceable in the state family courts:
- These contracts must be voluntarily signed by both involved parties.
- These contracts must be signed in the presence of a notary public.
- These contracts must fully disclose both parties’ financial information.
- These contracts must be signed without pressure, coercion, or duress.
- These contracts must contain fair and equitable terms for both involved parties.
Are postnuptial agreements as effective as prenuptial agreements?
You may establish a postnuptial agreement to make necessary updates or modifications to your previously made prenuptial agreement. Or, you may do so if you regret never working on this legal contract before getting married. Regardless, you may present this contract to the New Jersey family court in the unfortunate event you or your spouse petitions for divorce.
However, you must be made aware that postnuptial agreements may be more closely inspected, and thereby possibly subject to more challenges regarding their validity and enforceability. Specifically, the court may believe that your postnuptial agreement does not necessarily consist of fair or equitable terms, especially if you or your spouse underwent significant financial shifts since the start of your marriage.
That is, with a prenuptial agreement, you and your spouse may have been playing on a more equal playing field financially, so to speak. But throughout the course of your marriage, one spouse may have gained more financial power in the household. In turn, this same spouse may have had a greater influence on negotiating this legal contract’s terms for alimony, property division, and more.
This is why, the same you would do for a prenuptial agreement, you and your spouse should retain separate legal representation when drafting your postnuptial agreement. If you do so, you may avoid potential scrutiny in any future divorce proceedings.
In conclusion, if you still have lingering questions at this point in time, please do not hesitate to reach out to a skilled Morristown family law attorney. The team at Graves Andrews, LLC will certainly be the perfect fit for you.
