In its most general sense, a Prenuptial Agreement is a legal document coming into effect when a couple decides to divorce or if either spouse dies. People with children from another marriage who want to secure their interests and people with significant personal assets need to know the peculiarities of compiling such a form. You can find out more about the form in this article.
The state law assigns this kind of contract (also referred to as an antenuptial contract) to cover future spouses’ financial interests and rights. It may also solve the issues of debts belonging to any of the sides from before the marriage, possible alimony payments, and financial investments, accounts, or businesses.
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The West Virginia marital legislation is relatively straightforward and detailed. The main aspects of the contents, conclusion, and reinforcement of a pre-marriage contract are stipulated in the West Virginia Code (Chapter 48, Article 1, Section 48-1-203).
The Code, in particular, emphasizes the following:
Supposedly the future newlyweds successfully discussed their marital, financial rights, and obligations and compiled the document. Halfway done, it is time to think about actual signing. Let us review the most critical things that may seriously affect the prenup’s legal force in the future.
Here we turn to the State Code mentioned above, which specifies the prenuptial agreements’ signing requirements. It includes the following essential claims.
Indeed, it is worth using the services of an independent counsel. In any case, it shows that the agreement was signed voluntarily, and the participants did understand what they were doing. But still, it is not a requirement for the prenups to enforce. You may learn about the reasons that affect the enforceability of such covenants from the guidelines below.
Prenuptial agreements cannot be enforced in West Virginia if the court reveals any signs of misrepresentation or the fact that either party has defrauded the other. A prenuptial agreement must be signed voluntarily, under the circumstances excluding fraud in any form, and with complete knowledge of its content and binding legal effect.
Please note that the local courts will not recognize any West Virginia Prenuptial Agreement if, at the time of signing, either of the parties was underage. Such agreements are void by default.
The local courts tend to scrutinize prenups carefully and can refuse to enforce them. Therefore, both parties must negotiate beforehand and compile their agreement following the local requirements. The contract should be comprehensive and accurate.
For this purpose, you can fill in the prenuptial agreement form using our latest form-building software.
In general, prenuptial agreements can provide particular advantages for any situation relating to the parties’ property, assets, and debts. Therefore, it is reasonable to think over the possible outcomes and specify the conditions in advance.
For instance, your premarital agreement can answer questions regarding:
The West Virginia state follows equitable distribution laws. Thus, property gained during the marriage belongs to the spouse who earned it. In case of divorce, the property is split between the spouses at the court’s discretion, which will consider several factors before making its final decision. Most frequently, a spouse can get between one-third and two-thirds of the common property. Thereby, it is reasonable to clarify this aspect in the prenuptial agreement.
