Prenuptial
Agreements

A prenuptial agreement (also known as a “prenup”) is a written contract created by two people before they are married. A prenup typically lists all of the property each person owns prior to a marriage as well as any debts. It also specifies that each person’s property rights will be after the marriage if there is a divorce. These contracts are also sometimes called premarital agreements or ante-nuptial agreements.

​

Prenups are often used to:

​

• Protect one spouse from the debts of another spouse

• Address marital property versus separate property

• Provide for children from previous marriages

• Ensure that family heirlooms are passed down as desired

• Simplify the process of distributing property if the marriage were to end in divorce

• And more

 

Additionally, spousal support (in the event of separation or divorce) may be waived under the terms of a prenuptial agreement; however, under North Carolina law, state courts will ignore a spousal support waiver in a prenuptial agreement if the court believes that the agreement was unfair to the spouse who waived his or her right to spousal support.

​

Prenuptial agreements are not just for the rich. While they are often used to protect the assets of the wealthy, couples of more modest means are increasingly turning to them for their own purposes. If you do not make a prenuptial agreement, state laws will determine who owns the property that you acquire during your marriage, as well as what happens to that property at divorce or death. In the absence of a prenup stating otherwise, a spouse usually has the right to:

​

• Share ownership of property acquired during marriage, with the expectation that the property will be divided between the spouses in the event of a divorce or at death;

• Incur debts during marriage that the other spouse may have to pay for; and

• Share in the management and control of any marital or community property, sometimes including the right to sell it or give it away.