In Georgia, a marital agreement is a contract between two individuals who are either married or about to be married. The agreement usually sets forth the rights and responsibilities of each person.
Many couples have never heard the term “marital agreement.” However, such agreements provide tangible benefits for couples by allowing them to control their own destiny to some extent and make decisions on potentially thorny marital issues in advance.
When it comes to marital agreements in Georgia, our legal team has knowledge and working experience to spare. A Roswell marital agreements lawyer from our firm could help you build a custom marital agreement that matches your and your spouse’s unique lifestyle.
To be legally valid, a marital agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties. A court may also invalidate an agreement if it is extremely one-sided or unfavorable to one of the parties.
Many couples use marital agreements to define or establish what would happen if they ever separated or divorced. As a result, marital agreement provisions commonly address matters like:
Since each marital agreement is different, anyone who has questions on how they should structure their marital agreement should call a Roswell attorney as soon as possible.
One common use of a marital agreement is to determine each spouse’s property rights. For example, couples may decide that any property they owned before the marriage is their sole property and would not be split between the two parties. Additionally, a couple may use a marital agreement to preemptively divide certain assets, including, residences, luxury items such as jewelry or art, stocks, bonds, or other investments.
By dividing their assets in a marital agreement, couples are often able to avoid a court distributing their property in a manner they might disagree with. A marital agreements attorney in Roswell could provide further information on property distribution provisions and how to tailor them to each person’s needs.
As a Roswell attorney could attest, a couple may also use a marital agreement to decide on matters of alimony and child support to a certain extent. For example, they may wish to explicitly prohibit either party from requesting or receiving any spousal or child support.
They may also structure support payments in their marital agreement. For instance, a couple could decide that one individual must pay the other either a lump sum or periodic payment if they ever separate or divorce.
Finally, a couple could also use their agreement to decide on certain aspects of child custody. However, the court must approve these measures and confirm they are both equitable and in the best interests of the child, and all other elements of visitation and child support cannot be addressed in a marital agreement.
Marital agreements are legally binding contracts, which means they almost always require precise and careful drafting. Any person interested in a marital agreement should not attempt to do it themselves and should instead call a Roswell marital agreements lawyer for professional help.
Our attorneys are familiar with all sorts of pre and post-marital contracts, and more importantly, we know that what works for one couple may not make sense for another. If you need help, we could sit down with you to understand your needs and then work to draft an agreement that fits your lifestyle and your priorities. Call today to learn more about your legal options.