Prenuptial Agreement

What’s a Prenup?

A prenuptial agreement, also known as a premarital agreement, is a contract entered into by two people prior to their marriage.

The agreement outlines how the couple’s property and assets will be divided in the event of a divorce, as well as other issues such as spousal support and the distribution of debts.

Why Do Couples Get a Prenuptial Agreement?

The most common reason for a Prenuptial Agreement is to list assets. For example, someone may want to document that they had a certain amount of money in an investment account, before they married their spouse. Meaning, they don’t want the investment account to be “up for grabs” in the case of a divorce.

Other times, people want to document specific debt in their prenup. For example, Party B acknowledges that they have $25,000 in student loans which is their own separate responsibility.

A Prenuptial Agreement can be also be used for special clauses. A common special clause is that both parties agree that no alimony (spousal maintenance) shall be paid.

The State of Arizona has chosen to adopt the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (UPAA). UPAA is statute created for the purpose of standardizing the requirements of prenuptial agreements between states.

As such, the agreement we draft will be worded based on the notion subscribed to by the UPAA that prenuptial agreements should be “entered into voluntarily and fairly upon the exchange of disclosure between the Parties.”

How Much Does a Prenuptial Agreement Cost?

The cost of a prenuptial agreement can vary widely depending on a variety of factors, such as the complexity of the agreement and the attorney’s hourly rate.

On average, a prenuptial agreement in Arizona can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. It is important to work with an experienced legal professional. They will ensure that the prenuptial agreement is legally sound and meets the requirements for enforceability in Arizona.

Affordable Family Law offers prenups for $799 that are prepared by a legal professional with decades of experience.

Who Needs a Prenuptial Agreement?

There’s a big misconception that prenups are only for the very wealthy. However, many clients seek a prenup to help them sort through and pretty much pre-plan what’s going to happen in the event of a divorce.

Many people wonder if they need to have significant assets or income to enter into a premarital agreement. The answer is a resounding “No!”

Prenuptial agreements are for individuals who want to have more control on how their assets and income are ultimately allocated in the event of a divorce.

We will often get individuals who are more established in their lives. They have assets that they want to protect. This has become common because many people are tending to get married later on in life.

Individuals that have significant assets and income to protect, certainly don’t want to leave it to the court system as to what happens in the event of a divorce. We often prepare a prenuptial agreement for individuals who have taken time to build their estates and to build themselves as professionals.

On the other hand, we also prepare for a fair number of individuals who own their own businesses.  For those clients, this is planning on how to preserve their business assets.

Of course, sometimes clients hire because they have been married before and they know how divorces can go. They want to preserve their assets, and they don’t want to have a court making decisions because perhaps they’ve had a negative experience in the past.