The holidays are often a time when parents catch up with their college-age and adult children on what they’ve been doing and who is in their lives. Sometimes, hard or at least serious conversations happen this time of year when everyone is back under one roof.
If your child is in a serious relationship with someone and maybe even engaged or nearing that step, one of those conversations may involve the importance of getting a prenuptial agreement. Often, young adults don’t see any need for one because they have few assets and probably more debt. However, if you’re planning to leave them a significant inheritance and potentially even a share of your business or properties, you likely want to make sure that it remains protected should the marriage end in divorce.
Too much involvement can invalidate your efforts
It’s important to let your child know what assets could potentially be at stake – even if you don’t know just how much their eventual inheritance will be. This will help them work with a legal representative to include the appropriate provision(s) in the prenup. However, parents cannot get too involved in the actual language of the prenup.
It’s also critical not to pressure their spouse-to-be if and when there is one – nor should they – into signing a prenup. If a person is pressured or somehow threatened into signing or even if it’s presented to them to sign late in the process of wedding planning, the agreement can be ruled invalid if it ever needs to be used.
It’s typically best to have the “prenup conversation” before your child is in a serious relationship so that it doesn’t seem personally directed at their significant other or like you don’t think the impending union will last.
What if your child ignores your advice?
If your child marries without a prenup, for whatever reason, and doesn’t want to get a postnuptial agreement, there are ways you can “divorce-proof” their inheritance in your estate planning. Therefore, there’s no need for you to disinherit them, and your relationship shouldn’t suffer over this disagreement.
If you have questions or concerns about what your role should – and shouldn’t – be in your child’s prenup, it’s smart to get legal guidance. This can help you protect your family assets.