Reasons To Do A Mediated Prenup Agreement

By Rebecca Medina

Most often when a couple decides to tie the knot and get married, their To-Do lists can become overwhelmingly long, and multitasking becomes an art within itself.

I often find that many couples forget about one crucial step – drawing up a Pre-nuptial Agreement.

While a traditional pre-nuptial process usually brings to the table a great deal of adversarial back and forth, a collaborative mediated prenup does just the opposite. The process brings the couple together because their needs are brought to the forefront, unlike traditional prenups that often only consider one client’s position.

Here are a few reasons why couples should consider a mediated pre-nuptial agreement:

• Can assure that your marital financial landscape is in order.
• Outline in detail how property rights will be handled.
• Wills or trusts can be added to the agreement.
• Spousal support details can be spelled out.
• Terms will be enforced unless it’s in contradiction to public policy or the law.
• Prepare both of you for the unexpected, therefore protecting your assets more.
• The agreement can cover a wide variety of subjects – the couple determines what details matter the most.

A mediated prenup can help couples financially navigate asset allocation regarding businesses, previous marriages, later in life weddings, or how premarital debt is handled.

Clients can prevent conflict down the road if divorce occurs because most financial issues will be agreed upon before tying the knot.

As you work through the mediated pre-nuptial process, it’s important, especially if you live in California, to keep in mind the following:

• Uniform Premarital Agreement ACT (UPAA) lays out the requirements for the state regarding prenups.
• The prenup is not effective until the marriage date, and each partner has received all info about the spouses’ property.
• Once the agreement is drawn up, couples have a week to examine it.
• It must be signed in front of a notary to be considered valid.

By using the collaborative law model, collaborative attorneys are trained in interest-based negotiations and conflict resolution rather than the traditional adversarial model with an often winner-loser mindset.

When a mediated pre-nuptial approach is utilized, couples often have awkward conversations with their attorneys rather than between the attorneys without the couple present. It’s more likely to be a calm, peaceful process created with transparency, integrity, empathy, and respect.