It is important to have a knowledgeable family law attorney prepare and review any prenuptual agreement prior to marriage to protect your property.

New York Yankees Baseball star Alex Rodriguez had executed a prenuptial agreement with his wife prior to their marriage. However, when the parties filed for a divorce, his wife challenged the validity of the terms of the prenuptial agreement. Recently the parties reached a settlement of this dispute.

The law is clear. Even though the parties enter into a prenuptial agreement a reviewing court must find that the premarital agreement is in favor of public policy, or they will not enforce the terms of the agreement.

In order to comply with all of the requirements of premarital agreements is important to have a family law or divorce attorney write and review your agreement. Premarital agreements are entered into prior to marriage and may deal with the parties’ present and future property rights. In addition to meeting the strict legalities, a premarital agreement must also be entered into within public policy limitations on the enforceability of the agreement.

In addition, the party against whom enforcement is sought must have had at least seven calendar days between the date they were first presented with the agreement and advised to seek independent counsel and the time the agreement was signed. If the party is not given this required time to review the premarital agreement and seek independent counsel, the reviewing court could find the premarital agreement invalid in it entirety.

It is important when drafting a premarital agreement that it include a severability clause to protect the remainder of the agreement if the court does not uphold the entire agreement. Because of the strict requirements to ensure that the premarital agreement is valid, it is important to hire a knowledgeable California family law lawyer to write the agreement and review the agreement with you to make sure that you fully understand all terms in the agreement.

Wallin & Klarich has practiced this area of law for over 30 years. Contact a knowledgeable Wallin & Klarich attorney today to assist you in preparation of a premarital agreement or to review a proposed premarital agreement. Call us at 888-749-0034 and visit us at www.wklaw.com.