Postnuptial Agreement Attorneys in San Diego, California

A postnuptial agreement is a contract spouses sign after marriage to decide how property, income, and debts will be owned and managed, instead of leaving those questions to California’s community property rules. The San Diego postnuptial agreement attorneys at Smith Family Law, APC draft and review postnups for couples across San Diego County.

What is a postnuptial agreement?

Like a prenuptial agreement, a postnuptial agreement is a legal contract that allows couples to decide for themselves how property, income, and debts will be managed and owned during their marriage. Unlike a prenuptial agreement, where a couple signs the agreement before they get married, a postnuptial agreement is an agreement a couple signs after they are already married.

Why choose a postnuptial agreement?

Couples choose to enter a postnuptial agreement for many reasons. Here are some common ones.

• Timing. You wanted to get a prenuptial agreement, but your prenuptial agreement lawyer in San Diego, California tells you that it’s too late to get a prenuptial agreement before you are married. To be valid, a prenuptial agreement must be signed well before a couple gets married, ideally before invitations or any deposits on wedding venues or a honeymoon have been made. It also isn’t a good idea to sign a prenup days or even weeks before your wedding. Or, in other circumstances, one spouse drafts the prenup, but their partner doesn’t have time to get adequate legal representation before the wedding date. If a lawyer determines that factors like timing, or other circumstances that could appear coercive in court are present, it might make more sense to wait and get a postnuptial agreement rather than force through a prenuptial agreement that could later be seen as invalid.
• You’re Starting a Business. If one spouse in a marriage plans to start a business, especially if the spouse will be starting the business with business partnerships outside the marriage, a postnuptial agreement can offer clarity and protection about business ownership. Without a postnuptial agreement, the business could be classified as marital property. This could lead to a difficult divorce, especially if other parties outside the marriage have a stake in the business. Without a clear postnuptial agreement, a divorce or other partner’s debts could have an impact on access to a business’s profits. A postnuptial agreement can offer clarity about how business assets and profits will be managed during your marriage. It doesn’t mean that your spouse won’t benefit from business earnings, it just ensures that your business is structured in a clear way that distinguishes between business profits, individual earnings, and marital income.
• You’re Getting Your Inheritance. While inheritance and other gifts are generally the individual property of the partner receiving the inheritance, there are ways that inheritance money can become comingled with marital assets and property. For example, if you purchase a home with inheritance money and marital income, and put the house in both partner’s names, it could be difficult later to trace the money, and the house could potentially be seen as marital property. A postnuptial agreement is one tool that allows you to structure your finances to protect inheritance and ensure that your wishes for it (and your family’s wishes) are honored.
• You Got a Big Raise. A major change in financial circumstances can be very exciting for your family, but it’s important to keep in mind that any income you earn during your marriage will be considered marital property. This means that your partner would own 50% of any income you earn. This could create challenges, especially if your partner has significant debts, because without a postnuptial agreement, debt collectors might be able to make a claim on 50% of your income, in addition to your partner’s income. A postnuptial agreement can protect the finances of both partners and offer clarity about how financial matters will be managed during the marriage.
• You Realized You Don’t Agree with How California Marriage Laws Handle Marital Finances. Many couples don’t realize that when they get married, they are signing a financial contract with their future spouse. Without a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement in place, you’re basically agreeing that California’s community property laws will govern how your marital finances will be structured. Under California law, any income you and your partner earn during your marriage is considered community property (marital property) and is therefore shared. Any assets you purchase, investments you make, or businesses you start are likewise generally considered community or marital property and are therefore shared. And any debts either partner gets into during the marriage is also considered community debt (marital debt), and therefore both partners are on the hook for it. Some couples get married young or unaware of the financial implications of getting married. As they become more financially literate later, they realize that they’d rather manage their marital property themselves and not based on California’s community property laws, and marital property laws. The law offers a way for couples to manage their affairs (basically allowing them to make their own rules about how their property and debts will be managed while they are married). The way to do this is either through a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement. For example, some couples want to keep their debts separate. One spouse doesn’t want to be responsible for their spouse’s law school or medical school debts, or they don’t want to be on the hook for personal credit card debt their spouse gets into during their marriage. Other couples would rather keep finances out of their marriage and choose to keep their finances separate. A postnuptial agreement allows you and your spouse to clarify and codify these wishes. A postnuptial agreement lawyer in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law can help. Our postnuptial agreement attorneys can help you structure your marital finances as you wish.
• You’re Getting into Arguments About Finances. One of the leading causes of divorce and marital strife are financial disagreements. So many couples get married without having difficult conversations about how they’ll manage their finances. Individuals might bring into their marriage their own assumptions about money, and this can lead to arguments and marital strife. One partner might be accustomed to putting things on the credit card while the other might have a zero-debt policy. A postnuptial agreement offers you and your spouse the opportunity to disclose and discuss your finances in a structured environment with the help of an attorney. It can offer clarity about cashflow, debts, and each partner’s personal responsibility in the marriage. It can also offer a safe and structured place where you and your partner can discuss and plan for financial goals like home ownership, paying off debts, or retirement. A postnuptial agreement can also be a way forward if one partner has committed financial infidelity (for example, has gotten into secret credit card or gambling debt). If you’re having difficulty in your marriage because of finances, there might be a way forward. A postnuptial agreement may be able to offer that path. Contact the postnuptial agreement attorneys in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law to learn more.
• Estate Planning. A postnuptial agreement might be part of your estate plan, especially if you have children from a prior marriage. Without a postnuptial agreement, your spouse might own 50% of your income, meaning that this income in savings or investments might not automatically go to your children if you pass away. If you want clarity about what income and assets will go to your children and what income and assets will go to your spouse, you might want to include a postnuptial agreement as part of your estate plan. The postnuptial agreement attorneys in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law can help.
• To Update a Prenuptial Agreement. Changes in financial circumstances, new business ventures, or just changes in how a couple wants to manage their finances, their retirement, or estate planning might require a revision to a prenuptial agreement. A postnuptial agreement can allow you and your partner to make updates and revisions to an existing prenuptial agreement. Contact the postnuptial agreement lawyers in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law today to learn more.

These are just some of the reasons why couples choose to get a postnuptial agreement. A postnuptial agreement isn’t just for the wealthy. Couples who are pursuing higher education and facing educational debt choose to get a postnuptial agreement to offer both partners clarity about how finances will be managed. Couples with significant debt sometimes choose to get into a postnuptial agreement to offer clarity about debt ownership and to create a structured plan about how they’ll tackle debt in their marriage. Other couples choose to enter into a postnuptial agreement because their financial situation has changed—either one partner leaves the workforce to care for children, one partner gets a raise, or the family receives a significant inheritance.

Whatever your reasons, a postnuptial agreement can offer clarity about how finances will be managed during your marriage. The postnuptial agreement attorneys in San Diego, California at Smith Family Law are here to help.