Marriage Contracts: Is A Prenup Right For You?
Marriage is a time for celebration, but you need to look after the practicalities as well. Those about to enter a second or third marriage are prime candidates for a marriage contract (a prenup). Divorce is miserable; if you or your spouse-to-be have gone through it, then you want to start your new life together with some peace of mind.
At Gene C. Colman Family Law Centre, our legal team assists with drafting fair and hopefully enforceable marriage agreements. Based in Toronto, Ontario, we leverage over 40 years of legal experience tailoring these agreements to suit the unique needs of our clients.
Protecting Your High-Value Assets
People come to Gene C. Colman Family Law Centre for marriage contracts when one spouse-to-be has significantly more assets than the other. As such assets may originate in one of the spouse’s family, it is often the parents of adult children of the spouse who insist on the formation of a marriage contract.
Other circumstances where individuals desire a marriage contract include:
- Preventing divorce from impacting a business partnership
- A remarriage that leads to estate matter complications
No one wants to endanger their business partners or bequeath a legal mess to their loved ones. If your assets are worth protecting, then they are worth protecting with a proper marriage contract. For more technical information on marriage contracts, please read our article marriage contract article.
Enforcing The Terms Of The Marriage Contract
While no lawyer can guarantee that a court in the future will abide by the terms of a marriage contract, at least when you have an experienced family law lawyer you are maximizing the chances that your divorce insurance will be effective against any later attack.
Courts tend to set aside prenups where only one lawyer was involved. This does not mean that working on a marriage contract has to be an adversarial process. Both sides’ lawyers can and should engage in a co-operative and collaborative process without compromising their client’s interests. Furthermore, it is never appropriate to have a marriage contract without full written disclosure of each side’s assets, liabilities, and income.
Get Legal Advice That You Can Trust
Not just any lawyer will do. Nor will any standard off-the-shelf legal form suffice. Some Ontario lawyers will charge a few hundred bucks for a marriage contract. They may even act for both sides, making it even more of a ‘bargain’. You get what you pay for.
If you think you and your spouse-to-be could benefit from a marriage contract, or if you are concerned that a family member or business partner who is about to be married needs some protection, contact the marriage contract lawyer, Gene C. Colman, for a consultation or call our firm at 888-389-3099.
