Recently, thoughts about additional insurance in the event of a divorce make many people who marry think. And this is quite logical, since love is fleeting, but the material side of the issue often leads to additional problems and troubles. To protect yourself from further litigation and the division of family assets, a standard prenuptial agreement will help you. It can be concluded only by mutual agreement. We will try to tell you more about this universal document today.
What is a prenuptial agreement?
Increasingly, you can hear that the spouses have entered into a prenuptial agreement. Why is it needed? What is it like? And is it worth it to think about divorce during marriage?
A prenuptial agreement is a specific document signed by both spouses. In it, they describe their rights and obligations in marriage and during the start of the divorce proceedings. In particular, this document indicates, for example, that in the event of a divorce, the spouse will receive a car, and her husband - a major garage.
In a word, a prenuptial agreement can be concluded for voluntary property separation after a divorce. Therefore, if you are afraid that when parting with your other half, you will not get anything out of the property acquired by overwork in marriage, you should take care of this in advance and sign this document in time.
At the legislative level, it is regulated by articles 40 and 42 in the notorious Family Code of Russia.
A bit of document origin
The first prototype of a marriage contract first appeared in ancient Rome. At the same time, this document could control exclusively the property relations of the spouses and was equated to standard civil law transactions. Like the modern version of the agreement, the Roman prototype did not affect the personal relationships and spiritual values of both spouses.
What issues can regulate?
A marriage contract may be concluded solely to regulate the property matters of spouses after the dissolution of their marriage. However, this document cannot regulate relations between spouses of a personal nature that are not related to finances and joint family assets. For example, the agreement is not able to control adultery on both sides or indicate how often the wife is obliged to clean the apartment and cook.
But it has the right to indicate when and for what purposes the fair sex can spend money on the sale of common property some time after the divorce proceedings. To make it clearer why they conclude a prenuptial agreement, we give a few specific examples. So, what kind of property relations can be mentioned in the contract?
Examples of property relations specified in the contract
Suppose the couple entered into a prenuptial agreement. What rights does this agreement give them? To begin with, this document proposes several options for the further division of property. So, a divorced family couple has the right to choose one of the following options:
- Divide values in half.
- Continue to use them together.
- Distribute them in a proportional proportion (for example, two cars go to the husband, and one to the wife).
Further, the prenuptial agreement concluded between the spouses may describe options for the division of existing property, as well as what will appear in the future.In this case, the agreement is concluded during the wedding ceremony. It is also realistic to indicate here whether the family budget will be shared or whether both spouses will be able to use the earned funds independently of each other. Or you can mention the amounts for general and personal use.
Moreover, a prenuptial agreement may be concluded with a description of the amount of alimony that the spouse is obligated to pay for the maintenance of his children or his ex-wife. Especially this item is loved by the wives of public figures. On the basis of such an agreement, wealthy husbands undertake to pay a rather round amount for the maintenance of the former spouse.
What do celebrity prenuptials think?
None of the celebrities thinks over the question: “Is it to conclude a marriage contract or not?” After all, it is this document that allows everyone to stay at their own place and not spend money on lengthy divorce proceedings.
For example, this is exactly what happened with one wealthy family couple. The couple broke up after thirty years of marriage. At the same time, the wealthy spouse invited the former lover to voluntarily sign a waiver of claims for property. However, the enterprising wife refused. A lengthy lawsuit began. Currently, the former wife of the oligarch has already managed to seize from his missus several plots of land in the suburbs and about 380 million rubles.
There are also many cases when, after the divorce of celebrities, one of them continues to earn money, and the second lives partly due to this. And, of course, it was a prenuptial agreement for a long time that was an excellent tool in the hands of mercenary and prudent women, "black widows" and other marriage speculators. How and where to conclude a marriage contract, we will describe below.
What should not be in the contract?
Such an agreement may not contain clauses that violate the rights of one of the parties. For example, you can’t specify in the agreement that after the divorce, the spouse can’t turn to the representatives of Themis for help or completely give up her property in favor of the other party.
Therefore, you should not even think about whether to conclude a prenuptial agreement or let everything go by itself. This document will be excellent guarantees for you to obtain a certain material income and, possibly, save you from litigation. So, there are cases when, after the divorce, famous Hollywood popes completely abandoned property in favor of their children.
As it is: rules for registration and signing
As we have already said, a prenuptial agreement is a special agreement between spouses. It is regulated by law and comes into force from the moment of its signing. According to the general rules for such documents, an agreement of this type should be described on paper.
It is such a written form that has legal force and can be appealed in court. The contract, like any important document, is concluded in several copies, is sealed with signatures and notarized. Without this signature and seal, the contract will not have any legal force. Consequently, even with the signatures of both spouses, it will be invalid. But is it possible to conclude a prenuptial agreement?
When to conclude an agreement: before or during a marriage
There are several options when legal conclusion of a marriage agreement is permitted. For example, a prenuptial agreement can be concluded before the marriage is registered. This document is discussed, agreed and signed before both parties declare themselves legal spouses.
However, unlike other similar agreements, such an agreement will enter into force only after the formalization of relations between the spouses. If this does not happen, the prenuptial agreement concluded before the registration of the marriage will be invalid.
The second version of the contract is the simultaneous signing of the contract and marriage certificate.In this case, the document also comes into force from the moment of conclusion of the marriage relationship. In the future, it can be extended or supplemented.
And finally, a prenuptial agreement can be concluded in a relationship. When both spouses have lived together for a certain time, it is time to think things over and conclude a marriage agreement. It can be a document prepared earlier or made from scratch without dates and signatures.
How to conclude a prenuptial agreement?
When concluding a marriage contract before official registration with the registry office, the property that will be acquired in the future is usually the subject of the agreement. This includes, for example, real estate, land, vehicles, large and small household appliances, furniture sets, the percentage of shares in a business, etc.
Such a prenuptial agreement is drawn up, concluded before registration at the registry office, at a notary's office or at a private legal entity. For its conclusion, it is necessary not only to correctly compose the text of the document, but also to be personally present to both interested parties.
How difficult is it to get a contract while married?
As we mentioned earlier, you can conclude a marriage contract in a marriage. According to the law, it is quite possible to conclude such a contract at any moment of family life. At the same time, spouses who have already taken place have certain property values that they managed to earn while being married. Therefore, in the contract should be spelled out all the points relating to the list of common property. Moreover, according to experts, in this case, personal and common property should also be described. And, of course, in this agreement it is necessary to make notes regarding future acquisitions.
Recall that all property acquired by spouses during marriage is shared. The exception may be only individual gifts, individual purchases with the money of immediate relatives, objects and objects of inheritance, as well as intellectual property.
Is it possible to conclude a contract after a divorce?
According to the letter of the law, you can conclude a marriage agreement before official registration or already in marriage. After the termination of the family union, the conclusion of a marriage contract is not possible. However, both spouses can draw up another document related to the division of joint property.
In what form can I conclude a contract?
Since the prenuptial contract is an official document, it cannot be drawn up in an arbitrary or free form. There is a certain procedure for its compilation. Of course, this does not mean that both parties cannot draw up their plan for this document and write down sample points for this. On the contrary, this is not prohibited. Subsequently, spouses, as a rule, come to this lawyer with this plan. And he, in turn, helps to formalize all these requirements competently and in accordance with the law. In this situation, it should be understood that although there is an approximate form for executing such an agreement, each agreement is purely individual.
Is it realistic to draw up a contract by proxy?
According to the current legislation, a marriage contract must be signed and executed with the personal presence of both parties. However, the law does not prohibit the action of one of the parties through an official representative.
Another thing is that the third party must have a notarized power of attorney of the person whose interests it represents. Moreover, this option is acceptable for wealthy and too busy people. However, in this case, the contract is submitted for consideration by each of the parties separately. In this case, all other actions are performed through a representative. The only exception is the sight of the document by each of the spouses personally.
What documents may be needed?
For registration of a marriage contract, both parties to the transaction must have the following documents with them:
- Internal civil passports (originals).
- Certificate of conclusion of a marriage union (if it was concluded).
- Originals of documents proving ownership, such as real estate.
- Documentation confirming the fact of ownership or share in the business, for example, in the authorized capital of the enterprise.
- Documents attesting to an open and active bank account.
In addition to the standard package of documents, participants in the transaction can offer their draft contract. Its handwritten or printed method of presentation is allowed. Moreover, the further text of the agreement may be repeatedly changed and adjusted. The agreement itself is a double, less often triple copy. As a rule, each of the parties receives its own original.
Somewhat less often, the third copy goes to the notary. But most often the case is limited to two copies, and information on the conclusion of the agreement is entered by a notary in a special book of records. Moreover, this transaction is assigned its own serial number, by which, if necessary, you can find information about this record.
What clauses are present in the contract?
A marriage contract usually consists of several parts. So, in the first part the following information is indicated:
- Brief information about the document itself (name, information about the place of its compilation and personal data of both parties).
- Sequence number and date of compilation.
The second part of this document describes the main purpose of its preparation. For example, it may be an amicable settlement of property disputes in the event of separation of the spouses.
The third part, which is the main one, describes the points according to which the common property will be divided. It also indicates family income and expenses, the rights and obligations of the parties, as well as the procedure for possible material support by one interested party. This part deals with the payment of alimony and maintenance, for example, of a spouse after a divorce. It is noteworthy that any document needs specifics. Therefore, in the marriage contract all the necessary amounts, shares or percentages are prescribed.
Next is the final part, which can talk about the types of punishment in case of violation of the terms of the contract by one of the parties. And finally, at the end, each of the participants puts his signature. The last to sign the contract is a notary public. Such an agreement is considered valid and current.
Useful information about the marriage contract
According to lawyers, the conclusion of a marriage agreement helps spouses solve the problem of division. In particular, they will need this document when none of the parties wants to share valuables, objects and assets in half.
Moreover, this document is a priority for representatives of Themis. And only after considering all the points of this agreement, the judge can proceed to solve the problem on the basis of the Family Code.
There are times when after a divorce several scenarios are possible for further sharing. If, for example, only one option suits the spouse, it makes sense to draw up a marriage contract and describe this item in detail.
Some examples from the life when the contract will save the situation
It so happens that only a pre-written marriage contract can prove your property rights. For example, when it comes to housing under construction. So, the future spouse could have invested personal funds in a building project or apartment even before the official marriage.
Just a year after this event, he gets married. That's just the end of the construction of his housing is scheduled for about three years. In order not to divide this property during a divorce, it is necessary to prove the fact that the money for the construction was personal. Moreover, the deal itself was concluded before marriage and therefore cannot relate to common property.
Another great example of a wedding present. For example, young people are given an apartment. At the same time, 70% of its cost was paid by the parents of the wife, and 30% - by the husband. After a divorce, the court will divide this object in half.In order for this to not happen, and there is a marriage contract. It is in it that it is realistic to prescribe that in the event of a divorce, 2/3 of the property belongs to the wife, and 1/3 to the husband. Then they can amiably sell this property and share the money or continue to use it together. These nuances should also be indicated in the contract.