Prenuptial Agreement Determination

Another potentially problematic area is the idea of having a common advisor to prepare and review the proposed marriage contract. In order to protect the interests of both parties, it is strongly recommended that each party have separate legal assistance. Couples can apply to succession contracts in order to update and extend the provisions initially agreed in the marriage contract, especially if they contain sunset rules that invalidate them after a certain number of years. Indeed, while he was married to Ivana, Donald Trump changed his marriage contract three times before divorcing in 1990. Getting a marriage contract is a very personal decision, and every couple is unique. For example, a spouse may want to protect their family business in the event of a divorce, or perhaps a wealthy person wants to protect their property. In any case, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all couples and you should base your decision on your own unique circumstances. Section 1. Definitions. Defines a “pre-marital agreement” as “an agreement between potential spouses, envisaged and effective in the context of marriage”. (Agreements between persons who live together but do not envisage marriage and post-marital agreements do not fall within the scope of this Act.) The final key is that the circumstances of the negotiation and execution of the agreement should be free from coercion. The most common example of unacceptable pressure is the presentation of a draft contract on the eve of the planned marriage or, in the most extreme case, literally on the actual date of the marriage. Instead, the agreement should be prepared and ready to check it in due course before the big day.

As with pre-marital agreements, states are free to dictate their own validity requirements. For example, one of Minnesota`s requirements is that each spouse must own property worth at least $1.2 million before an estate agreement is valid. See Minn. Stat. Ann. § 519.11. Marriage contracts have been recognized as valid for a long time in several European countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. .