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Let's Talk About Post Nuptial Agreements

By Corrie Sirkin posted 09-05-2014 12:05 PM

  
Reproduced from:
http://letstalkaboutdivorce.com/2014/08/06/lets-talk-about-post-nuptial-agreements/

As a professional woman, you know that there will be work-life challenges that you will face if you decide to get married and have children. What you may not consider or want to think about is what happens if you divorce? Before you decide to start a family or you have that amazing surprise, consider what might happen if you leave the workforce to raise a family.

University of Virginia Longitudinal Study of Law School graduates in the class of 1987 were asked in 2007 about their employment status and satisfaction with their lives. 81.3% of persons not working full-time stated caring for children was the reason. All but one of these respondents who stated they were not working full-time were women. The percentage of women working full-time was also highly correlated with the number of children they had. 0% of women in the study with four children or more were working full time and only 22% of women with three children were working full-time. On the other hand, 95% of women with no children were working full-time.

When these women graduated from law school, got married and had children, they knew that staying home and caring for children was a full time job in and of itself that was very valuable for their family. Did they ever consider whether they would actually receive adequate compensation in the form of alimony and child support in the event of a divorce? Probably not, but it is something that especially professional women should seriously consider when they are contemplating starting a family or leaving their career to stay home to raise the family that they have.

A postnuptial or mid-marriage agreement can help you provide for a potential outcome that most people do not want to consider; however, it is better to be informed and seriously consider the possibilities than be at the whim of the laws in your state. Many people would be surprised to learn that in some states, like Texas, there is virtually no alimony or that in Texas, they could be married for eleven years and still be considered a short-term marriage with a default provision of no alimony at all! Moreover, in this climate of so-called “alimony reform” a person could negotiate a lesser equitable distribution in exchange for higher alimony and find that their state’s legislature can allow their spouse to modify an agreement retroactively! A guarantee of alimony is especially important for women who, in theory, because of their professional degree, may be imputed a significant income that they may in fact take a long time to begin to earn. After being out of the workforce for many years, many woman lack experience, may need recertification or may take a long time to regain lucrative employment. If a wife decides to give up a lucrative career to stay at home and raise children, it is important that she have a postnuptial agreement that clearly outlines how she will receive compensation through both equitable distribution and alimony in the event of a divorce. It is better to be prepared and informed rather than being blindsided.


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