What All Estate Planners Need to Know About Prenuptial & Cohabitation Agreements

Prenuptial agreements are contracts entered into between prospective spouses prior to their marriage to determine the parties’ rights upon the termination of their marriage by divorce or death. Prenuptial agreements may be appropriate in the case of a second marriage, a first marriage between older parties, a marriage in which one spouse is in a high-risk occupation, a marriage in which one of the spouses is a partial owner of a family business, a marriage in which one party has a large potential inheritance, or a marriage between individuals of disparate stations in life. In effect, such agreements are attempts by either or both parties to narrow the range of contested issues between them (or their successors in interest) at the termination of their marriage. Cohabitation agreements are appropriate when the parties to the agreement want to have an arrangement which differs from the ordinary treatment of two co-owners or coresidents of property in accordance with their legal ownership interests. Estate planners need core fluency in both types of agreements.