If at least one future spouse has been married before, the couple should at least consider a premarital agreement. The second marriage divorce rate is about 50% higher than the first marriage divorce rate. These marriage dissolutions often create a host of unanswered emotional and financial questions. Prenups determine these matters in advance and memorialize the couples’ choices in black and white.

A prenuptial agreement is more than divorce insurance. Money squabbles are a leading cause of marital friction. Prenups resolve these squabbles before they have a chance to poison your relationship. Furthermore, these contracts are no longer as complex as they were. Under Maryland’s recently updated prenuptial agreement laws, a Waldorf, MD, family law attorney from the Law Office of Robert R. Castro can draft a premarital agreement in as little as one office visit. 

Making a Prenup in Maryland

As mentioned, prenuptial agreements usually address the emotional and financial concerns that many people have when they tie the knot again.

Inheritance and succession matters are often very delicate matters in a second marriage, especially if a spouse has a family business. Legally, divorce cuts off inheritance rights, at least in most cases. So, a biological child from a first marriage may have no future interest in a family business, even if that biological child participates in that business.

Prenups can change that outcome and reinstate inheritance rights. Furthermore, because everything is in writing, adopted stepchildren do not have hurt feelings. Additionally, prenups can be amended at almost any time to keep up with changing situations.

Frequently, to seal the deal, a Calvert County family law attorney draws up wills and other executory documents along with a premarital agreement.

In terms of financial matters and premarital agreements, almost everything is on the table. Spousal support limitations are among the most common financial provisions. Most prenups include stairstep limitations. The longer the marriage lasts, the higher the alimony cap moves. Premarital agreements also address current situations, such as which spouse will manage what property during the marriage.

Child support matters are about the only thing not on the table. A court must set the amount and duration of child support payments based on the best interests of the child, not the best interests of the parent.

Breaking a Prenup in Maryland

No contract is ironclad. An attorney can successfully challenge all or parts of a premarital agreement in Maryland based on:

• Unconscionable Division: A 60-40 property division split is uneven. An “I get all the assets and you get all the debts” property division is unconscionable. That division must be unconscionable when made. This issue often comes up in stock distributions. Frequently, corporate stock is valuable one day and worthless the next day.
• Voluntary Signature: This requirement usually means the signing spouse knew what s/he was signing and had independent legal representation. If Husband withholds critical financial information and Wife did not have access to that information elsewhere, she did not know what she was signing. If Husband paid for Wife’s lawyer, Wife’s lawyer wasn’t fully independent.

Most prenups have severability clauses. If a court invalidates part of the contract, the remainder remains in full force and effect.

Contact a Dedicated Calvert County Lawyer

Both parties have important legal and financial rights in divorces and other family law proceedings. For a confidential consultation with an experienced divorce lawyer in southern Maryland, contact the Law Office of Robert R. Castro, 2670 Crain Highway #411, Waldorf, MD 20601. You can also call us at (301) 870-1200 or go online.

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert R. Castro. For more information or questions contact our office to speak to an experienced lawyer at (301) 870-1200.