People in North Carolina who are getting married might want to consider creating a prenuptial agreement, particularly if there are special circumstances. For example, if one of them has significant assets that they are bringing into the marriage, they might want to make sure that those are considered separate from marital property that may be divided in a divorce.
A prenuptial agreement may be needed if one of those assets is a business. Otherwise, in a divorce, the spouse may be able to own a portion of the business and may have a say in how it is run regardless of their experience. If one person has significant debt, a prenuptial agreement may help prevent the other spouse from being saddled with part of that debt in divorce. People who have children from a previous relationship might want to make sure that in the event of their death, their assets go to their children. Although conversations about prenuptial agreements may be difficult, they also give couples the opportunity to be completely open about their finances and how they view money.
Some celebrity divorces have demonstrated how expensive a divorce without a prenup can be. Musician Paul McCartney paid his ex-wife Heather Mills $49 million, and Madonna may have paid her ex-husband Guy Ritchie as much as $92 million.
People who are facing a divorce without a prenuptial agreement will have to negotiate how they will divide property or go to court, where a judge will decide how it is divided. If there is a prenuptial agreement, one still may challenge it. A prenup might be successfully challenged if it appears one person did not get thorough legal counseling. A prenup could also be declared invalid if it covers topics that are outside its remit, such as child custody issues.