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Premarital Agreements

When you are thinking about marriage or planning a wedding to someone you love, it can be difficult to imagine things going wrong and the marriage ending because of death or divorce.

A premarital agreement, also known as a prenuptial agreement, affords you and your prospective spouse the opportunity to talk about and create a financial plan while the good times lie ahead, instead of trying to sort through and separate assets, income, and liabilities when things have already unraveled or suddenly ended.

Connecticut Premarital Agreements: Financial and Estate Planning for the Future

With your desired goals in mind and our knowledge of the Connecticut Premarital Agreement Act, our family law attorneys at Ruel Ruel Burns Feldman & Britt will help you to craft a premarital agreement to proactively address issues of cashflow, asset division, and allocation of debts to meet your specific needs in the event of your death or divorce.  We help you identify your concerns, create your goals, and prepare the documents necessary to implement the plan. It is common for us to coordinate with your other trusted professionals, including your trust & estate attorneys, financial advisors, and your CPA. Your goals shape the tone and approach taken to form the premarital agreement.

The Connecticut Premarital Agreement Act specifies what issues can and cannot be addressed in a premarital agreement, the financial disclosure requirements of you and your fiancé when entering into a premarital agreement, and the circumstances under which a premarital agreement may be enforced.

Reasons for Premarital Agreements

Our attorneys have helped clients discuss and draft premarital agreements when there are closely-held family business interests, intergenerational family wealth, children from a prior marriage to whom clients wish to transfer their estate, other inheritance or tax issues, and significant premarital assets.

Because a premarital agreement needs to be conscionable both when you and your prospective spouse sign the agreement and later at the time of enforcement, which can be years later, you will want an experienced and informed attorney to draft your premarital agreement. Our attorneys are adept at addressing unique or complex issues and generating creative options to solve for those challenges.

Contemplating Divorce with a Premarital Agreement in Connecticut

For those who are contemplating divorce and who previously entered into a premarital agreement, it is important to work with family law attorneys who understand the issues arising from challenges to the enforceability of premarital agreements at the time of divorce. At the time of divorce, Connecticut courts will review whether:

  • The premarital agreement was voluntarily entered into;
  • There was fair and reasonable financial disclosure before signing the premarital agreement;
  • The premarital agreement was conscionable when entered into and signed;
  • The agreement would be conscionable at the time of enforcement, such as divorce; and
  • There was a reasonable opportunity to consult with individual counsel.

If there has been complete financial disclosure and the premarital agreement does not violate Connecticut statutes or public policy, Connecticut family courts’ main focus will be on comparing your circumstances when you and your spouse first signed the premarital agreement to your current circumstances at the time of divorce. Our attorneys have also successfully litigated the enforcement and invalidation of premarital agreements during divorce matters.

Consulting a Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer in Hartford

If you are contemplating marriage and require a proactive premarital agreement for financial or estate planning reasons, our Connecticut-based family lawyers at Ruel Ruel Burns Feldman & Britt can help you navigate this sensitive process so that you can focus on your wedding and marriage.