Some people rebuff the many benefits of entering into a prenuptial agreement because they believe that the primary purpose of a prenup is to avoid alimony (often referred to as “spousal support” or “maintenance”). They fear the possibility of being left with no financial support if their spouse asked for a divorce, especially if they decided to forego future career advancement and earnings to raise children or to provide some other benefit for the family. Such concerns are common and very reasonable, particularly among people getting married for the first time. No one knows what the future may bring.
Many couples decide to allow a spouse who is unemployed at the time of separation leading to divorce (e.g. a stay-at-home parent situation) to seek some pre-agreed amount of alimony, but otherwise waive the right to seek spousal support if both are employed. For the most part, a couple entering into a premarital agreement (or postnuptial agreement) can freely choose whatever alimony terms make them comfortable to enter the marriage, given their unique personal situation.
Alimony and prenups go hand-in-hand. Following best practices, the subject of alimony should be addressed one way or another in a premarital agreement, because a primary goal of entering into a prenup is to “pre-agree” on the terms that couples fight over in divorce court (such as how property will be split and the right to spousal support). Omitting spousal support terms from a prenuptial agreement just leaves the spouses to rely on default state laws in the event of divorce, which can lead to a court battle.
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