Premarital agreements, also known as prenuptial agreements, are not just for the rich and famous. Especially as more people get married later in life, many engaged couples find themselves with significant assets they want to protect, including homes, cars, savings accounts, businesses, and retirement accounts. At Taylor Huguley Powers, our family law attorneys regularly draft premarital agreements for clients in Fairfax and other communities in Northern Virginia from all walks of life and income levels. These agreements can be an amicable way to determine up front how assets should be divided and the amount and duration of spousal support if the marriage ends in divorce.
A premarital agreement or prenuptial agreement can be a simple document that protects specific separate property in a future divorce or can be a Draconian document that predetermines that no income or assets accumulated during the marriage will ever become marital property or that no spousal support will ever be paid, regardless of the length of the marriage or the circumstances in divorce. Athletes, entrepreneurs, and professionals who anticipate high earnings during their marriages might want to protect those earnings from a future divorce.
In addition to drafting agreements before a wedding takes place, our attorneys can also assist with post-marital agreements for couples who want to establish an agreement during their marriage to create an understanding of how they will divide property and address spousal support should their marriage end in divorce in the future.
While assets a person brings into a marriage are generally separate property under Virginia law upon a divorce, seeking the advice of the lawyers at Taylor Huguley Powers and entering into a premarital agreement can help ensure that you keep it that way.