Tying the knot? 4 reasons why you need a Prenuptial Agreement in Florida…

Marriage is a big part of estate planning.  It can have a drastic effect on your assets and property, and, when you die, an even bigger effect of the inheritance of your heirs.  So, when people ask me “Do I need a prenuptial agreement in Florida“, I always advise that a prenup should not be considered a dirty word, but rather a tool to ensure estate administration goes smoothlyafter the death of one of the spouses.

Here are 4 reasons a prenup can positively affect your estate planning:

1. To protect your inherited assets in the case of death or divorce from your spouse. For purposes of equitible distribution, inherited money (as in cash) typically will not be subject to terms of a prenup. But assets from you Florida inheritance, on the other hand, can be considered in prenuptial agreement.  One may specify how to divide up the marital property, and inherited assets can also be considered in the award of alimony. By fixing the term and amount of alimony in a prenuptial agreement, entangling an inheritance with a divorce can be avoided. In case of death, inherited assets are treated just as any other asset. Therefore, in the absence of a prenuptial agreement, inherited assets are subject to spousal claims just like any other asset.
2. To limit the rights of survivorship of the spouses. Florida law gives a generous array of benefits to a surviving spouse upon death, including a minimum of 30% of the value of the estate. The spousal share applies to assets acquired during the marriage, as well as assets owned before the marriage. It may also cover inherited assets. A prenuptial agreement can eliminate the spousal share, and other spousal entitlements, so that the spouse can receive a predetermined amount of assets at death.
3. To protect a family business. If one of the spouses works at and owns part or all of afamily-owned business, as well the income from the business, he or she could be at risk in a divorce, as the result of equitable distribution and alimony. In a divorce proceeding, without aprenuptial agreement in place, the other spouse could end up owning part of the business and also receiving alimony payments derived from the business’ income.
4. To protect children from earlier marriages in the case of death or divorce. Marriages with children from earlier marriages can greatly benefit from a premarital agreement. For example, someone with children entering college may need the certainty of being able to pay for college without the possibility of a messy divorce and the payment of alimony. Likewise, wealthy individuals with large estates may not want to be required to provide all of the spousal entitlements to a spouse in the event of death. Even without expensive college bills and a large estate, the economic consequence of a divorce or spousal entitlements upon death may severely interfere with being able to carry out pre-existing plans for children from earlier marriages.

Any Palm Beach estate planning attorney will tell you, stop thinking of prenuptial agreements as an insult to you relationship with your Pompano Beach sweetheart.  A prenup saves time, money, and heartache, and will help you keep better control of your Florida estate and the inheritance of your heirs.

See http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/ for videos and information on Wills in Florida, Florida Trust Law, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration in Florida.