How will you use your prenuptial agreement?

You may be among the many fans who shake their heads when a celebrity marries without a prenuptial agreement in place. After a few years, the critics begin to speculate how much damage the divorce will do to the celebrity's fortune, and you may be astounded to hear the details of the settlement that a prenup may have prevented.

What about your upcoming marriage? In fact, more people are realizing that they have just as much to gain from a prenuptial agreement as a movie star or rock idol. While you may think of such a contract to avoid a contentious battle over your money and real estate, there are other ways to benefit from a prenuptial agreement.

Thinking outside the box

The agreement you and your intended make prior to marriage can address almost anything that is important to you. While you cannot predict the course your life will take, you can include items in your prenup that anticipate the future, such as:

• Changes in laws: State laws frequently change, and if you agree that Kentucky's current laws for property division are fair, you may want to lock it into your prenup in case you decide to divorce and the laws have changed.
• Student loans: If you and your spouse plan to reduce debt by paying down student loans one at a time, your prenup can include a plan of compensation if the marriage ends before you eliminate the second loan.
• Pets: Few states consider pets as more than property, so you and your spouse may wish to plan how you will divide ownership of animals you have if you should divorce.
• Frozen embryos: More couples are facing heart-wrenching decisions when their marriages end while they have unused embryos in frozen storage. Your prenup can settle who takes custody of those embryos or if you will authorize their destruction.
• Sacrifices: Your prenup can address the compensation of a spouse if you decide that one of you will leave the marketplace to raise children or give up a career for the advancement of the other.

Of course, owning a business prior to your wedding is a compelling reason to sign a prenuptial agreement. A prenuptial agreement, along with your diligence in avoiding commingling of business and personal assets, can allow you to protect your hard work from the potential destruction of property division. Seeking the advice of an attorney is a good way to determine how a prenuptial agreement can benefit you.