Should I Have a Prenuptial Agreement?

While prenuptials agreement in Canada matters before entering into a marriage. Prenuptials are often most helpful for those who are entering into a marriage is to settle financial and property matters between the future spouses before they enter into marriage. These agreements can help clarify exactly what will happen to assets or debts in cases of divorce or when death occurs.

Financial Matters and Prenuptials

Finances are one of the main reasons when income and property acquired are considered community or marital property, meaning that it would be divided between the two parties at the end of the marriage. Prenuptials can alter the standard community property laws as spouses desire. Here are some other ways prenuptials aids in financial matters:

Indicate Personal Finances: A prenuptial can define what you wish to happen to retirement accounts or personal cash assets in the case of divorce or death. If, for example, you wish to leave your assets to children instead of your spouse in the case of death, this should be established in a prenuptial.

Personal or Separate Bank Accounts: Spouses may want to maintain financial autonomy despite being married, especially if they are entering into a second marriage later in life. Prenuptials can establish bank accounts as legally separated so that spouses can maintain separate financial lives.

Protection from Debt: If a spouse comes to a marriage with significant personal debt, he or she may want a prenuptial to legally protect the spouse form the debt burden in the case of divorce or death. Otherwise, a spouse will inherit debt at the time of death.

Property Matters

Who gets what property in the case of divorce or death can also be established in a prenuptial. Again, clarifying such matters can be especially important for people who have children from a previous marriage.

Homes and Property: If you have a family home or vacation property at the time of a marriage, you might want it to pass on to your children rather than your spouse. Prenuptials can clarify who large assets will pass to and will protect them in the case of divorce.

Heirlooms: Family furniture, jewelry, or other heirlooms can also be protected by prenuptials. Rather than passing to a spouse in the case of death, you can clarify if you would like them to stay with your family of origin.

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