A post-nuptial agreement is generally a good idea for those who want to protect their assets during a marriage. A post-nuptial agreement is signed after you’re already married, so both parties should be well aware of the assets and debts of the other person. A post-nuptial agreement can be of help during a divorce, because it will determine how those debts and assets are split.
Each state in the United States has different laws surrounding divorce. Massachusetts has several specific laws that may help you through your divorce case, as long as you understand what they mean. For instance, in 2010, a law was created following a post-nuptial agreement-based case. The law now stands that post-nuptial agreements can be enforced, but the judge needs to be wary.
The judge may need to ask if each person had legal counsel look over the agreement, if there was fraud or coercion when signing the agreement, if all the assets each party had were disclosed, and if both spouses agreed and understood that the post-nuptial agreement would mean that they would be waiving their rights to an equitable division of their assets. The terms of the post-nuptial agreement must also be fair in order to be enforced. For example, if the post-nuptial agreement were to say that a person was not allowed to work, but it also said that person wasn’t entitled to any assets at the end of a marriage, that could be problematic.
In that kind of case, the judge could throw out a post-nuptial agreement. That decision can typically be appealed, although it can be a long process.
Source: Massachusetts.Gov, “Massachusetts Laws” accessed Mar. 23, 2015