A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract that people often create before marriage, and these types of agreements are becoming very popular for people who are entering into second marriages. You do not have to legally get a prenup when getting married, but it can be very helpful, especially if this is your second marriage.

What is a prenuptial agreement?

A prenuptial agreement is a contract two people create prior to marriage that states how they will divide things if they divorce. These are commonly used by people who are wealthy, simply to protect their assets, but they are also used a lot by people who are getting married for the second time. A prenup will basically protect you from losing any assets you came into the marriage with. It may also protect you from losing assets you acquire during the marriage, but this depends on it is written up.

What are the reasons they are commonly used with second marriages?

When people enter second marriages, they often have children and are often in a better financial position than they were earlier in life. For a person to protect his or her children in a second marriage, the person could create a prenup. If this person died before his or her spouse, the prenup would give rights to this person's children relating to assets. In other words, the assets would not simply transfer to the surviving spouse and his or her family. Instead, they would go to the children of the deceased individual.

What information will you need to get a prenuptial agreement?

If this is something you are considering before getting married for the second time, you should talk to a family lawyer about it, and you should also talk to the person you are marrying. Both of you may benefit a lot by creating this type of agreement, especially if you both have children and assets. As you work on creating the agreement, you should list the assets each spouse is bringing into the marriage and what will happen to the assets if you divorce or one of you passes away. If you are not sure what else to include in the document, ask your lawyer, as he or she will give you the best advice about this.

If you are interested in getting a prenup or learning more about them, you should visit a family law office like Scott & Scott, PC today.