Couples in Arizona and throughout the country have warmed up to the concept of the prenuptial agreement in recent years. These documents can be especially beneficial to those who own a business. With a prenuptial agreement, a couple can determine whether to classify the company as marital property or create a custom label for it.
The terms of the agreement may establish how much the company was worth at the time of the marriage. This amount generally cannot be split in a divorce proceeding. Therefore, a business owner can protect the equity that they built before entering into a union.
An agreement may also determine the type of compensation a spouse could be entitled to if the marriage were to come to an end. For instance, a spouse who collected a salary from the business may be entitled to little or nothing more in a divorce. In the event that a business owner is not taking a salary, a prenuptial agreement could impute a reasonable income that would be split if a divorce took place. In some cases, it’s possible to simply hand over an equity stake in the firm that could be liquidated or used as collateral for a loan.
Creating a prenuptial agreement with the help of a lawyer can resolve many or all potential property division issues prior to the marriage taking place. This could make it easier to come to a divorce settlement in a timely and amicable manner. Doing so would be ideal for business owners who want to eliminate distractions that a divorce could create. It may also be ideal for parents who want to protect the best interests of their children.