Martial Agreements

Premarital Agreements, Postnuptial Agreements and Cohabitation Agreements

Marriage comes with a host of economic rights and obligations that most people do not know about when they get married.  They often do not learn about them until it is too late, when they are in the midst of a divorce.

Premarital agreements, also known as prenuptial agreements, allow people who are contemplating marriage the opportunity to chart their own course for their marriage rather than having the default rules control.  Premarital agreements are particularly important for protecting the assets and income of wealthy individuals. 

The law specifically allows for premarital agreements, but there are many pitfalls that can result in a premarital agreement being wholly or partially invalidated. The law surrounding premarital agreements is complex and constantly evolving. It is critical that the drafting attorney be familiar with the most recent developments and take extreme care in the drafting of the agreement, especially when the financial stakes are high. The attorneys at Levitch Stanley Mendell LLP have litigated hundreds of divorces, including cases involving the validity and interpretation of premarital agreements. 

This experience helps us anticipate every eventuality and to draft and negotiate the strongest possible agreements.  Levitch Stanley Mendell LLP attorneys are experts in drafting bespoke premarital agreements that will achieve the client’s goals and have the best chance to stand up to future challenge. 

After marriage, spouses sometimes wish to enter into a financial agreement, also known as a postnuptial agreement. Postnuptial agreements have special requirements, and generally are harder to defend than premarital agreements because married persons have special fiduciary duties to each other. A married person contemplating entering into a postnuptial agreement should hire highly skilled lawyers such as those at Levitch Stanley Mendell LLP.

Today, many couples choose to defer marriage, or not to marry at all, and live together instead. Many do not realize that they may be deemed to have entered into a financial contract simply because they live together. For this reason, particularly when at least one of the persons is wealthy, it makes sense to enter into a written agreement that defines the financial terms of the relationship and eliminates the possibility of any unintended financial consequences.  Such agreements, known as “cohabitation agreements,” help to minimize the risks and uncertainty that can result if the relationship ends. Levitch Stanley Mendell LLP attorneys are skilled and experienced in the preparation and negotiation of cohabitation agreements.