Collaborative Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements

A pre-nuptial agreement is an agreement signed before a marriage, whereas a post-nuptial agreement is signed after a marriage.

There is a negative connotation when one talks about pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.  I like to think of pre-nuptial agreements as a healthy part of pre-marriage planning, especially if the parties create an agreement using the Collaborative Process; likewise, if the parties create a post-nuptial agreement.

In traditional legal models, the attorneys negotiate in an adversarial way, creating draft agreements that only protect their own client.  The attorneys go back and forth, only looking at things from the perspective of their own client’s position; this can set an impending marriage off in a distrustful way.

In the Collaborative Process, the parties each have their own Collaborative attorney; the clients and the attorneys work together as a team, in a transparent process, to create an agreement that meets both parties’ interests, needs and goals.  Creating a prenuptial agreement together, allows both parties to have an understanding of each other’s feelings about finances before the marriage, and thus to create a more durable agreement.

Additionally, I believe that creating a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement in the Collaborative Process adds an extra layer of enforceability in the courts, give that the process is fully transparent.

I encourage all couples to explore creating such agreements, as a healthy start of creating an open, honest, and lasting partnership.