Prenupital Agreements

The prenuptial agreement is truly unlike any other contract in the law. Although each party is considering and providing for their individual needs, never is the importance of preserving the relationship between the parties so obviously crucial. For this reason, many people assume that discussing prenuptial agreements is necessarily inconsistent with the goals of beginning a life together. And if conducted under the traditional paradigm of one spouse versus another, it certainly can feel that way. But this is where the tools and procedures of mediation and collaborative law stand in such impressive relief to the old model.

There are many important and easily understandable reasons why people might seek to create a pre-nup. And it needn’t feel like a threat to the relationship. Maybe one party is looking to maintain the integrity and longevity of a family business. Or they need to provide for children of a prior relationship. Perhaps they want to establish a common understanding of what each expects going into the marriage. Or maybe they just want to be sure to avoid even the possibility of a contentious and disputed divorce in the future. So they  resolve the issues up front, while their relationship is strong and they are able to see eye to eye. Whatever the reasons, one thing is certain: it is in the best interests of any marriage to be able to discuss and resolve issues – especially potentially difficult ones – at the outset of their legal relationship. But how they have that conversation matters enormously.

The use of interest-based negotiation along with the many tools of mediation and collaborative law help to ensure that you can have the conversations you need to have in a way that honors and respects the importance of protecting your nascent relationship – with honesty, transparency and compassion.