Prenuptial Agreements
A Prenuptial Agreement, or Premarital Agreement, is a contract between two people who are planning to get married. Premarital contracts are used by future spouses to protect assets and to simplify common issues the couple may face in the event of a divorce.
Prenuptial Contracts define the way in which property is divided and how support is determined in the event of divorce. They can address each spouse’s rights and obligations in separate or marital property, distribution of assets, entitlement to alimony, and each spouse’s rights to death benefits from the other’s life insurance policy.
The Prenuptial Agreement does not take effect until the couple actually marries. Once the Agreement is in effect, it can only be modified or revoked by the written consent of both spouses.
Postnuptial Agreements
A Postnuptial Agreement is a written contract entered into by spouses after they are married. The terms of a Postnuptial Agreement dictate how a couple’s assets will be divided in the event of divorce. The Postnuptial Agreement may address how the couple’s separate and joint property, acquired prior to or after the marriage, will be divided. It may also state how the couple’s debt will be divided. In certain circumstances, the Agreement may also contain provisions for spousal support. Finally, a Postnuptial Agreement may be used to protect a spouse’s business interests in the event of a divorce.
In Nevada, a spouse may not use a Postnuptial Agreement to limit his or her obligation to provide alimony. Such a limitation may only be made in a Prenuptial Agreement.