Prenuptial Agreement Attorney In Gilbert, AZ
When looking to tie the knot, establishing a prenuptial agreement can help protect your financial future in case you and your partner ever decide to divorce in the future. This can be very important if you bring to your marriage a sizable amount of assets or income. A Gilbert prenuptial agreement lawyer at Ellsworth Family Law, P.C. can walk you through the process of choosing the right prenuptial agreement for you.
What Is a Prenuptial Agreement in Arizona?
A prenuptial agreement, also sometimes called a prenup, is a legally binding contract that you and your spouse-to-be both agree upon and sign before you’re married. A prenup allows you and your significant other to determine how assets and finances will be handled if you decide to divorce, including:
- Property and asset division
- Financial disclosures
- Business ownership and management
- How debts would be handled and paid
- Inheritance rights and estate planning
- Amount and duration of alimony or spousal support payments
Arizona governs prenuptial agreements under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 25-202, also known as the state’s Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. Under this law, prenups must:
- Be written out and signed — spoken agreements won’t hold up in court.
- Agreed to voluntarily, without any coercion.
- Provide full disclosure of the assets and finances of both parties.
- Be in place before a marriage takes place.
Under Arizona prenuptial agreement laws, a prenup can’t include:
- Terms for child support or custody.
- Lifestyle terms, such as who takes care of what household chores.
- Appearance-related terms, such as spouses need to stay within a certain weight or physical appearance.
- Financial incentives for a divorce.
- Any terms that a judge finds to be unfair or seem to be fraudulent.
- Anything that would be considered illegal by the state of Arizona.
Do I Need a Prenup in Maricopa County?
When getting ready to marry, no one ever wants to think about divorce. The unfortunate truth is that divorces are not uncommon. Arizona is one of the states with the lowest divorce rate, with two divorces for every 1,000 women living in the state.
However, Maricopa County had the largest number of divorces and annulments of all Arizona counties, with more than 10,000 occurring in 2023. So while the overall divorce rate for the state may be considered rather low, that’s not the case in Maricopa County.
With Maricopa County residents also boasting the highest median household income in Arizona, it’s no wonder that high-income professionals in Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale, and Phoenix are protecting their financial futures by establishing a prenuptial agreement with a local law firm.
Are There Different Types of Prenups?
Under Arizona prenuptial agreement laws, a prenuptial agreement can be structured in a few different ways depending on your specific needs. Different types of prenups include:
- A traditional prenup, which is a written, legal contract signed by both parties before they’re married, that allocates how assets and finances would be handled.
- Sunset prenup is a traditional prenup where couples have set a specific date or event for when the agreement would expire. For example, a couple may choose to have their prenup expire when they hit a specific year of marriage or on the birth of a child, as that would change their assets and finances.
- A business prenuptial agreement helps protect business ownership and management by allowing a spouse to keep sole ownership of their business and stopping the sale of a business during a divorce.
- A postnuptial agreement is basically a prenup that comes into effect after a marriage. Just like a prenup, postnuptial agreements are written, legally-binding documents that help clearly define assets and finances, and can be used to help divide them during a divorce.
What Happens During a High-Net-Worth Divorce if I Don’t Have a Prenup?
If you and your spouse have decided to divorce but don’t have a prenup, in most cases, a divorce judge with the Maricopa County Superior Court will work towards creating as close to a 50/50 split of finances and assets as possible.
Under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 25-211, Arizona is a community property state. This means that any assets and debts accumulated jointly during a marriage are considered property of both spouses, which means they should be split as equally as possible. This can potentially be very difficult for affluent couples in Chandler and other Maricopa County cities, especially if one spouse brings more money and assets to the marriage than the other.
While there are ways that a spouse could prove that certain assets were owned only by them before the marriage, it often requires complex asset valuation and forensic accounting, which can be costly and take a lot of time. High-net-worth couples with a complex portfolio of properties, assets, and finances benefit from having a legally-binding prenuptial agreement that leaves nothing to chance or any question as to how property should be divided.
How Does a Gilbert Prenuptial Agreement Attorney Help?
When you hire a prenuptial agreement lawyer, their job is to help you through the entire process. That includes:
- Deciding which type of prenup is ideal for you and your situation.
- Helping draft the prenup so it meets your needs.
- Providing full disclosure of all finances.
- Overseeing the signing of the prenuptial agreement by both parties.
- Updating the prenup after life-altering circumstances, like a birth or death.
Then, if you and your spouse decide to divorce, your prenuptial agreement lawyer in Gilbert, Arizona, will help to make sure the terms of the prenup are followed.
And if any spouse decides to challenge the terms of the prenup, your attorney will take on your prenuptial agreement case by representing you in court to defend the legality of the legally-binding document.
Hire a Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer in Maricopa County Today
If you’re a high-net-worth professional with a marriage in the near future, establishing a prenuptial agreement gives you peace of mind that whatever happens in your marriage, your financial future is protected.
Gilbert prenuptial agreement attorney Ellsworth Family Law, P.C. has 23 years of experience in helping affluent couples in Maricopa County write legally binding prenuptial agreements, free of loopholes, and tailored to your specific needs. Call our office today to find out more about how we can help.
