Post-Nuptial Agreements For Estate Planning
June 6th, 2008
The Washington Post online ran an interesting story about estate planning with the use of a post-nuptial agreement. The article featured a couple as they were inching toward the edge of the divorce cliff.
Here is an excerpt: Now they are starting over. They've settled their arguments over money. They've divided up some of their assets. They are maintaining two households but agree to try to spend no more than 10 days apart in a month. They are about to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. "Deep down we really do love each other," she says. "If you once loved in a passionate way, you can reclaim that."
The news is the tool this 60-something couple used to reclaim their marriage: the post-nuptial agreement. The post-nuptial agreement is a contract signed during marriage to manage financial affairs and divide income and assets in the event of death or divorce.
One purpose of the post-nuptial agreement is estate planning. "That is a perfectly good reason to do it," says Jeff Atkinson, principal author of "The American Bar Association Guide to Marriage, Divorce & Families" (Random House, 2006). It is a way to direct retirement benefits to children of a previous marriage, or to an adult child with special needs.
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