Frequently Overlooked Estate Planning Tool: Prenuptial Agreements

In addition to more traditional estate planning documents like wills and trusts, a prenuptial agreement can be another estate planning tool. These agreements are not only for the rich and famous.  Anyone getting getting married who has already accumulated a separate estate should consider executing a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage. This document can help protect your family during death or divorce by providing certainty and predictability should one of those events occur. Fro a good article on the subject, see here.  While not the most romantic pre-marriage conversation, for couples on their second marriage, it is a conversation worth having, especially if one spouse has children from a prior marriage.  Without a prenuptial agreement, the death of one spouse may result in many if not all of the deceased spouses assets being paid to the survivor, to the complete exclusion of the dead spouses children.  Conversely, the death could result in the lion's share of the estate being paid to the children, even though the plan was for those assets to support the surviving spouse during his or her remaining lifetime.