Our Pittsburgh Lawyers No Longer Draft Premarital Agreements in Pennsylvania.
You should get a lawyer to draft your premarital (prenuptial) agreement. You could rely on a form; however, a form does not take into account real world issues that lawyers see on a daily basis. You need to a solid agreement that takes into account real world problems that the drafters of a “form” might not have seen.
What Is A Pre-Nup?
In Pennsylvania, a premarital agreement is treated like any other contract. Thus, absent fraud and/or a failure to disclose one’s premarital assets and earnings, the agreement will be upheld, generally.
Does Fairness Matter?
Ethically, yes. You should try to be fair in life and treat others as you want to be treated. However, in Pennsylvania, the courts do not care if your premarital agreement is objectively “fair.” As mentioned, the agreement is treated like any other agreement, such as your agreement to buy a car or a house. Perhaps the price you pay for a car is not “fair” or maybe you are getting the car for a steal, but the courts will not care unless there is fraud.
Do the Courts Protect Women?
The real questions is, why should the courts protect a person who is competent and over the age of majority? The courts treat women as equal individuals who are intelligent, capable, and free to negotiate their own contracts.
What Does a Pre-Nup cover?
The parties to an agreement can waive all their rights to support from the other party. They can also agree what assets will be deemed premarital and thus not part of the marital estate. Normally, in the absence of a prenup, premarital generally do not become part of the marital estate as to become subject to equitable distribution. Rather, typically, premarital assets belong to the individual who owned them before the marriage. However, the increase in value during the marriage does become part of the marital estate, the same goes for contributions into your 401K during the marriage. Fortunately, you can agree through a premarital agreement (or a post-marital agreement) exactly how assets will be distributed upon separation and/or divorce.
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