Prenups: Fill & Download for Free

Your lawyer is wise to tell you that there is no guarantee. There are no guarantees. Let’s say you get married in Pennsylvania and have a prenup written in Pennsylvania by a Pennsylvania lawyer. Five years later, you move to California. Five years after that, you and your spouse decide to get a divorce. Something in your prenup, perfectly acceptable in Pennsylvania, is considered against public policy in California. As a result, the court will not enforce that specific part of the prenup. Or, you stay in Pennsylvania, but the law changes in Pennsylvania, and a clause that was once ok is no longer. Or maybe your lawyer messes up the prenup. Or perhaps you don’t follow all of the requirements to reveal your assets prior to both parties signing the prenup. Or maybe your spouse argues they were forced to sign the prenup under duress and a court agrees.Many prenups are entirely enforceable. But, things happen.

First, spend some of your bountiful wealth to consult with a local attorney to ensure you understand how marital property and the division thereof upon divorce works where you live. You may learn some facts that make you feel more comfortable proceeding without a prenup. For example, your spouse may have no claim on wealth you earned before marriage.Second, make sure you and your fiance have similar financial values, goals, and habits. When you say your fiance is $20,000 in debt, do you mean she bought a $30,000 car and has been paying it down dutifully? That's completely normal. Is it student loan debt? Responsible people make use of that. Is it credit card debt from an emergency? A little more concerning, but it happens. Or is it credit card debt from living beyond her means? That should be a big red flag about your compatibility for marriage.Third, did your fiance reject the entire idea of a prenup, or just a specific prenup you offered? Does your fiance understand that everyone who gets married already has a prenup in place — the standard one provided by the government? Does she know what that standard deal looks like? Does she believe it's appropriate and fair for your situation? Or is the issue here that she refuses to acknowledge the possibility of divorce and therefore won't even discuss such things? If you are pragmatic about marriage, and she is idealistic about it, that's another type of incompatibility, and financial conflict ends marriages every day.

All these folks claiming your fiancee is a gold digger apparently aren't versed on how prenups work.I doubt your prenups are legally prepared and valid documents, because otherwise they would have been negotiated together with lawyers involved and there wouldn't be TWO documents.My bet is that she won't sign it because two different prenups would cause a legal battle in the case of divorce, or because there's something in there she doesn't trust without a lawyer.You should be having a meeting with BOTH lawyers together and creating ONE document, which both of you sign in concert.