Do You Need a Premarital Agreement Before your Kentucky Marriage?

For many years, premarital agreements were held to be invalid in the state of Kentucky. However, the Supreme Court of Kentucky began officially recognizing prenuptial agreements in 1990. The phrase “premarital agreement” may cause a lot of couples to bristle, but these agreements, also known as “prenuptial agreements” or “prenups,” can actually offer peace of mind to those planning to get married, and assurance that even if the marriage fails, the spouses know what to expect in a divorce. Read on for a few reasons why you may want to consider creating a premarital agreement before getting married in Kentucky.

You’ll be able to protect your business from division, or protect yourself from your spouse’s debts.

If you own a small business, a premarital agreement can offer you a way to ensure that your spouse does not earn a share of that business during the marriage, and can protect you from having to sell the business upon divorce, or to have your ex as a shareholder. Additionally, you can make clear in a prenup that one spouse will not become obligated for any part of the other spouse’s debt upon a split.

You’ll have a legally-binding guarantee of how alimony and property division will be handled in a split.

Premarital agreements are known as a means for the wealthier spouse to prevent losing a substantial amount of their assets in a divorce. Yet these agreements can also be a way to assure the less-wealthy spouse that they will receive alimony in a certain amount after a split, as well. Note that, while you can agree in advance on how alimony and the division of assets will be handled, Kentucky makes it illegal to include terms on child support or child custody in a premarital agreement.

You’ll save yourself the time and expense of a drawn-out divorce.

Hotly-contested divorces can become extremely expensive to fight. Creating a premarital agreement which settles in advance many of the issues that might otherwise be fought over in court can save you and your spouse from the expense and emotional cost of a drawn-out legal battle.

You’ll have a way to protect your children’s inheritance.

If you’re getting married for a second time and have children from a prior relationship, you’ll likely want to ensure that they will receive as substantial an inheritance as they can. Creating a premarital agreement will offer an opportunity to decide whether your spouse will automatically be entitled to an “elective share” of your estate when you pass away, or be limited to what is provided for in the will.

If you would like to explore the pros and cons of having a premarital agreement before getting married in Kentucky, contact the experienced and knowledgeable Louisville family law attorneys at John H. Ruby & Associates for a consultation, at 502-895-2626.