If you and your spouse are like many couples, you didn’t feel you had enough assets when you got married to warrant getting a prenuptial agreement. However, a lot can change over years of marriage. One or both of you may have lucrative careers. You may have accumulated considerable (and in some cases, complex) assets – and debts.
Even if you have a prenup, it may be sorely outdated and not reflect your current life or financial situation. For example, maybe one of you left the workforce to be a full-time parent or to help your spouse with an unofficial yet significant role in their career.
Some people think a postnup is something people get only as they move toward divorce to help the process proceed more easily and privately. In fact, however, it’s typically better to get a postnup while you’re still committed to the marriage and can more easily negotiate with each other.
A postnup can address the same things as a prenup can. Like a prenup, it can’t address any child custody or support matters. However, it can stipulate how assets will be divided and how much, if any, alimony one spouse will be expected to pay the other. It can also address the division of debts.
A postnup can offer financial protection for both spouses
If there’s a big earning disparity between you and your spouse, it can protect both of you. For example, if you’re the lesser-earning spouse, you can help ensure that you’ll receive enough spousal support to live comfortably while you build up your own earning potential.
Older spouses can help protect their lifestyle for the remainder of their lives if getting back into the full-time workforce isn’t feasible. If you outearn your spouse, you can help ensure that you don’t end up supporting them to the detriment of your own financial well-being.
In California, which uses the community property model of property division, where marital assets are divided 50-50, a postnup can override the law, as long as the terms are basically fair to both. For example, the higher-earning spouse may be willing to give up a large share of marital assets since they’ll be able to earn enough to replace them.
As with a prenup, it’s crucial for each spouse to have their own legal representative to protect their rights as they put the document in place. This will also help ensure that it’s valid and will hold up in court if and when it’s ever needed.