Fairfax, VA Divorce And Family Law Attorney Claudia J. Zucker On The Utility Of Post-Nuptial Agreements

As a family law attorney in the Fairfax-Arlington area, I have prepared a number of prenuptial agreements for my clients. Many of them ask about modifying the prenuptial agreement after the marriage, or forgoing the immediate prenuptial and creating a postnuptial agreement at a later time, should the need arise. Professionally, it's my opinion that it's better to execute a well drafted prenuptial before the marriage, as there is no legal requirement for either party to enter into a postnuptial agreement. There are, however, occasions where two married individuals would decide to modify an existing agreement or create a new post-marital covenant.

Virginia Post-Nuptial Agreements

The following are some of the reasons that Virginia couples enter into a post-nuptial agreement:

• One of the spouses wants to form a business partnership, and as a condition of that structure, the parties must procure post-nuptials to insulate the business from divorce.

• A family member of one of the married parties is to be named as the beneficiary of the estate on the condition that he or she obtains a post-nuptial agreement.

• A child is born out of wedlock and both spouses agree that at least some of the estate is the birthright of the child.

• The two married parties believe that a post-nuptial agreement is preferable to allowing Virginia divorce law to later dictate the terms of their dissolution of marriage.

Getting the Post-Nup Right

A post-nuptial agreement—any legal document, really—is only as good as the attorney who has prepared it. If a post-nuptial agreement is not well written or has vague and ambiguous language, it stands the risk of being disputed in a Virginia courtroom or not serving the purpose for which it was intended. As a divorce and family law attorney serving clients in Northern VA, I've prepared hundreds of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements. The keys to my success in formulating functional and legally defensible documents are my experience and the relationships that I forge with my clients.

If you are in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince Williams, or Arlington counties, and you are seeking a divorce, prenuptial agreement, post nuptial agreement or are in need of any other family law related legal service, contact my Fairfax office at (703) 596-1005.