Many people in Minnesota have heard of a prenuptial agreement, which allows couples to decide on the division of assets in the event of a divorce before they marry. However, few people may be familiar with a postnuptial agreement. A postnuptial agreement does pretty much the same thing for you and your spouse that a prenuptial agreement does. The main difference is that, as suggested by the name, you enter into a postnuptial agreement after the marriage takes place rather than before.
According to Forbes, both prenuptial and postnuptial agreements have a bad reputation. The misconception seems to be that people who enter into such an agreement have no faith that the marriage will last. In fact, such an agreement, whether prenuptial or postnuptial, is a way for you and your spouse to prepare for the potential end of your marriage while still hoping for the best possible outcome.
Some couples enter into a postnuptial agreement early on in the marriage. If this is the case, you may have talked about a prenuptial agreement before getting married but did not have time to finalize it before the wedding took place. However, it is not unusual for couples to enter into a postnuptial agreement many years after the marriage took place. In this case, the agreement may help you to gain clarity into the areas of conflict between you and your spouse. A postnuptial agreement may actually be preferable to a prenuptial agreement because you and your spouse are more aware of the issues that threaten your relationship.
Needless to say, you can only enter into a prenuptial agreement before the marriage ceremony, but once you have tied the knot, it is never too late for a postnuptial agreement.
The information in this article is not intended as legal advice but provided for educational purposes only.