LGBT Prenuptial Agreements

Kraemer, Manes & Associates LLC “KM&A” is a law firm with LGBT prenuptial agreement lawyers serving all of Pennsylvania. If you are looking to get married to your partner and are interested in having a prenuptial agreement, we invite you to contact us for a consultation. Call a KM&A LGBT prenuptial agreement lawyer at 412-626-5626 or email us at lawyer@lawkm.com.

With the decision of the district court to strike down Pennsylvania’s  ban on homosexual marriage on May 20, 2014, the incredibly complicated documents and procedures required to safeguard one’s rights when living in a state that did not recognize his/her marriage became unnecessary. However, just because the process has become somewhat simpler, does not mean that you should not get a prenuptial agreement.

Prenuptial agreements protect certain rights of the parties in the event that the marriage falls apart and the couple divorces. Without a prenup, the distribution of your assets will be decided by the state. The state will also decide whether or not you have to give or receive spousal support or alimony.

Pennsylvania already protects some property from being given to the other spouse in a prenup. This includes any property owned before the marriage, anything inherited during the marriage, and any property earned or received after the marriage. Beware of co-mingling these separate assets, however, as that will make them marital property and they will all go in to the pot to be split up by the state in the event of a divorce.

While getting a prenuptial agreement may not seem romantic, it is important to protect your assets. When one person in the couple has significantly more assets than the other, it may help both parties to have a prenup- one can protect his/her assets and the other can make sure that he/she will be provided for in the event of a divorce. If one or both people have children, a prenuptial agreement can protect the children’s interests as well.

LGBT Prenuptial Agreement Lawyers: 412-626-5626

If your partner has approached you with a prenup, what should you do? You absolutely need to consult with an attorney who can tell you whether or not what you’re signing is fair. In Pennsylvania, the courts will not review a prenuptial agreement for fairness; only whether there was full disclosure, fraud, or duress. Therefore, the only time you have to make sure your rights are protected and that you will not be unfairly harmed by the prenup is before you sign it.

If you are the party requesting the prenuptial agreement, it is important to give your future spouse time to review the agreement and to consult with an attorney. In this time of celebration, many LGBT couples may want to get married as soon as possible so they can finally have the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognize their relationship and be bestowed with all the rights and privileges that marriage grants. But do not rush so fast that you do not get a prenup if you should have one, or pressure your significant other to sign before they are ready.

The important thing with prenuptial agreements in Pennsylvania is that each party is required to make a full financial disclosure. This guarantees that you will know what your partner possesses before waiving any of your rights, in a way that simple promises cannot. Having a good idea of your spouse’s financial situation is also likely to stop some disputes during the marriage based on financial misunderstandings.

Once you have a prenuptial agreement in Pennsylvania, it will be difficult for either party to back out, unless both parties agree to cancel the contract. In Pennsylvania, you have to show that your ex-spouse either did not make a financial disclosure or that the disclosure did not contain every material fact related to his or her financial situation, and that you did not waive the right to a full financial disclosure. This is why it is important to get an attorney to assist you with drafting or reviewing a prenup before you sign it. Without an attorney, you may be unwittingly giving up important rights without knowing it. The other ways to break a prenup are to prove fraud or duress. It is important to note that threatening to call off the wedding has not been considered duress by the courts.

Earlier we mentioned that you can use a prenuptial agreement to protect the rights of your children. This refers to children with a biological or adoptive relationship to only one of the parties. In cases where there are blended families, a prenuptial agreement can protect your assets so they can eventually be passed on to your children.

Regarding children born during the marriage, a prenuptial agreement with a clause that attempts to set child support or custody will be found invalid. Custody and child support are decisions that have to be made, either by the state and courts or the former couple after the couple separates.

It is also important to get a prenup because you may live in a different state when you divorce that the one you live in now. Each state of the United States has different laws on how marital property is split, and these can vary wildly from state to state.

Prenuptial agreements are also important when one party plans to quit their job in order to raise children. That person will be a weaker financial state in the event of a divorce and it may be incredibly difficult to return to work after you have been out of the labor force for an extended period of time.

When considering marriage, it is more fun to plan the wedding or think about life after marriage than to plan what will happen in the event of a divorce. Within the LGBT community and the community at lare, there is sure to be much jubilation over this recent decision striking down the Pennsylvania marriage ban. LGBT couples will finally have the opportunity to have their rights recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But the excitement over being able to marry should not stop people from pausing to consider some serious issues if their marriages do end, and they should get a prenup first to ensure they are not giving up other rights.

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