PRENUPS AND POST MARITAL AGREEMENTS
Prenuptial agreements allow couples to have crucial conversations in a secure environment, where they can discuss their expectations and clarify their goals as a married couple and allows you to start your life together with clear expectations.

Prenuptial agreements are for couples who want to address issues that are important to them. Prenuptial agreements can address issues such as: What happens to my property after we marry?; How do I protect my business should we divorce?; How is our separate property protected?; What happens should one of us die?; How are my assets protected for my children?

Prenuptial agreements provide prospective spouses with a framework for identifying the property they bring into the marriage, as well as ways to preserve and handle the property in the event of death or divorce. A prenuptial agreement outlines what property is created in the marriage is community property and what property created in the marriage is separate property.

WHAT IS A MARITAL PROPERTY AGREEMENT
After marriage, you can enter into a postnuptial agreement, also known as a partition and exchange agreement or post-marital agreement. Under Texas law, spouses are granted the right to change the character of community and separate property by use of a marital property agreement. A marital property agreement is an agreement that spouses can enter into before or at any time after marriage, and must be in writing and signed to be valid. This agreement permits spouses to alter the community property system used in Texas. A well written marital property agreement will clarify and define your respective rights and eliminate uncertainty during your marriage.

WHAT IS A PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT?
Prenuptial agreements are binding legal documents created between two people prior to marriage. They can be as simple as each person confirming what property they bring into the marriage, and as complex as eliminating any community estate and dictating what happens in the event of divorce or the death of a spouse. The primary purpose of a premarital agreement is to modify Texas’ community property laws. Modifying the law impacts not only the financial aspects of any future divorce, but also impacts estate planning.

WHAT IS A POSTNUPTIAL AGREEMENT?
Often during a marriage, spouses may set parameters to govern the assets and liabilities they have accumulated during the marriage. Postnuptial agreements, also known as Post-Marital Agreements or Partition or Exchange Agreements, are documents that allow married couples to make binding changes to their finances after they have wed.

Postnuptial agreements are binding legal documents that define the division of assets and debts should the marriage be dissolved. The benefits of a postnuptial agreement take away the uncertainty of what is going to happen in a divorce. Once the divorce is filed, you abide by the terms of the agreement, making it simpler and much less expensive.

WHY ARE MARITAL PROPERTY AGREEMENTS IMPORTANT?
Prenuptial, postnuptial and agreements to convert separate property to community property provide structure, clarity, and a pathway to a successful marriage by eliminating a huge stressor: money. Marital agreements allow you to apply a different set of rules than what Texas law provides when it comes to property created during the marriage, and how that property will be divided in the event of divorce or death.