Prenuptial agreements have gotten a bad reputation for causing rifts between couples. The fact is, devising a premarital arrangement allows you to lay all the information on the table. It is a process where you get to go through all the assets each partner brings to the marriage, ensuring each person is on the same page.
Regardless of either spouse’s current work status, it is permissible to draft stipulations for spousal support upon divorce. This includes setting a predetermined amount that one partner will pay the other or waiving the receipt of alimony altogether. Here is what you will need to know when addressing this in your premarital contract.
The Uniform Premarital Agreement Act
The Uniform Premarital Agreement Act is a shared policy between 27 states, including Florida. It sets out strict parameters that a couple must meet to make a prenuptial agreement valid. In a state where divorce rates are unusually high, this is an important step to protect both sides of the union.
The intention of this uniform act is to ensure that agreements are fair and equitable to both parties. If one side of the arrangement leaves one partner in an unstable financial situation, a judge will likely not approve the contract.
Invalidation of spousal support waiver
If you decide to waive the sharing of spousal support in your premarital agreement, you should know a couple of things. To convince a judge that alimony will not be necessary, there must be other allowances to compensate both spouses. For example, if each partner has a steady, comparable income, waiving support payments may be okay. Conversely, if one partner receives a greater percentage of assets to make up for a lack of alimony, this may also pass.
Imagine you waive spousal support and later decide to quit your job to take care of the family. Florida law on the subject dictates that if the outcome of a divorce leaves one partner eligible for government assistance, then the waiver of spousal support becomes invalid.
The law seeks to protect you from becoming financially ruined in a divorce. You can certainly arrange spousal support in your prenuptial agreement, but these conditions may change if divorce circumstances call for it.
