You and your significant other get engaged. It’s a wonderful day that ends with dinner at a fancy restaurant. You spend the evening talking about your wedding. Should you really be talking about a prenuptial agreement?
That’s not at all the romantic evening you had in mind. However, it is important to move quickly if you want to use a prenup Some legal professionals say that you should put it at the top of your to-do list once the engagement is official.
“I like to say that once the hall has been hired, the invitations go out, and the contract’s been signed for the band, it’s too late to have a prenuptial free of duress,” noted one well-known divorce attorney, saying couples had to act quickly.
The problem is that the humiliation and embarrassment of calling off the wedding only increase as the couple gets closer to the big day. Once the wedding is closing in and the breakup would be far more public, one person might go through with a prenup they don’t actually want. Then, if they get divorced, they may be able to claim they signed it under duress to save themselves that embarrassment.
On top of that, they may claim that they felt like they had to sign because they’d already paid to rent that reception hall or buy the dress. Knowing they’d lose money if they refused the prenup, they signed it.
If you want a prenup that will stand in court if you need to use it, you must know when to get it and work to ensure that it is carefully drafted.
