MacLean Law’s top 5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips lawyers answer your FAQ’s on Marriage Agreements, Cohabitation Agreements also know as Prenups. In today’s blog Chris Park of MacLean Law provides the 5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips lawyers and FAQ’s on prenups, cohabitation agreements and marriage agreements.
5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips lawyers
There is often a disparity in finances between potential partners that leads one spouse to seek a prenup agreement. It is a delicate subject that should never be left to the last minute. We recommend you speak with an experienced family lawyer learn about the 5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips:
- Develop a plan for what the prenup will cover such as separate property, staged payments per year, spousal support and more;
- Create plan for how you and your potential spouse can calmly discuss the reasons for and against wanting a prenup;
- Create a strategy on how you can emphasize its potential benefits for both future sposues in discussions about preparing one;
- Ensure both of you make full financial disclosure, and
- Ensure your partner has ample opportunity to seek legal advice and seek changes to the pre-nup.
Vancouver FAQ’s Prenup and Cohabitation Agreements Lawyers Tel: 604 602 9000
Our top Vancouver family law agreement lawyers often are asked: Are Cohabitation Agreements, Marriage Agreements, commonly referred to as Prenups, enforceable upon separation? Are Prenups “airtight”? The short answer is fair family law agreements are bulletproof but unfair ones may not be.
Family Law Agreements, including Prenups, are enforceable under the Family Law Act (BC), but as is the case with any legal contract and with court’s being more sensitive to fairness in agreements between spouse’s as opposed to companies, they must first adhere to both formal and substantive standards.
Section 93(3) of the Family Law Act states that the Supreme Court of British Columbia may set aside or replace an agreement with an order if any of the following circumstances existed when the parties entered the agreement:
(a) a spouse failed to disclose significant property or debts, or other information relevant to the negotiation of the agreement;
(b) a spouse took improper advantage of the other spouse’s vulnerability, including the other spouse’s ignorance, need or distress;
(c) a spouse did not understand the nature or consequences of the agreement;
(d) other circumstances that would, under the common law, cause all or part of a contract to be voidable.
5 Best Vancouver BC Prenup Tips lawyers
Secondly, even if there are no formal or procedural inadequacies in the Family Law Agreement in question, the court may still set it aside if it is found that the Agreement is significantly unfair (s. 93(5) of the Family Law Act). The court will consider, in concluding whether an Agreement is significantly unfair:
(a) the length of time that has passed since the agreement was made;
(b) the intention of the spouses, in making the agreement, to achieve certainty;
(c) the degree to which the spouses relied on the terms of the agreement.
5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips Victoria FAQ’s Prenup and Cohabitation Agreements Lawyers Tel: 604 602 9000
To ensure that both procedural and substantive conditions for the enforcement of a Prenup are met, it is always prudent to retain a lawyer to draft the Agreement, so that the efforts that went in to finalize the Agreement are not wasted on an Agreement that is not enforceable. Full disclosure, sworn F* personal financial statements and even business and real estate valuations are the gold standard.
No good lawyer will spend 30 minutes with a client who is giving up property and support and merely rubber stamp it. The time to make sure a prenup agreement is fair is before you sign it – not after.
What are some key elements of a Vancouver Cohabitation Agreement or Prenup? Tel: 604 602 9000
5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips include knowing that a comprehensive Cohabitation Agreement will typically include terms regarding the division of family property and debt, including any property that either party brings into the relationship, which may be excluded from the division of family property, and thus shielded from any claims by the other party, or any property that is the result of an inheritance or gift from third parties.
Other elements of a comprehensive Cohabitation Agreement may include clauses on spousal support, parenting of an existing or future child, and child support. It must be noted that clauses regarding children are never final, and that upon separation, the courts will always look at the present circumstance and what parenting arrangement is presently in the child or children’s best interests.
It should also be noted that any clauses regarding spousal support, or future waiver of spousal support may be set aside if the circumstances since the Agreement was made has drastically changed, rendering the Agreement significantly unfair. This is why it is generally good practice for Cohabitation Agreements to be updated during the marriage/relationship, to ensure that the terms are not too outdated.
Is a Cohabitation Agreement or Prenup only for the ultra wealthy? Tel: 604 602 9000
This is a common misconception but obviously high net worth prenups up the financial stakes and risks to the financially weaker spouse.. Cohabitation Agreements, prenups and marriage agreements are beneficial for any couple planning to move in together or marry, regardless of their financial situation. While the legal fees to draft a Cohabitation Agreement will not be insignificant, if there is to be a separation, a well-drafted Cohabitation Agreement can significantly reduce the cost of separation or divorce by greatly streamlining, or even eliminating, the legal issues that arise upon separation.
It is a good idea to remember that Cohabitation Agreements are designed to prepare any couple for the worst of times, just like insurance for your house or vehicle.
Are Prenuptial Agreements “unromantic” and will it only cause conflict between spouses?
This is another misconception. A well drafted Agreement protects the legal rights of both spouses, and it is beneficial for both spouses to be aware of the legal implications of a potential separation, before they each make the significant decision to live together or to marry. We believe that transparency and clarity are signs of a healthy relationship, not a toxic one.
Can one lawyer represent both spouses in drafting a Cohabitation Agreement?
The short answer is no. In British Columbia, a lawyer can only represent BOTH clients in the same file if their interests are not adverse. Because a Cohabitation Agreement prepares a couple for a future possibility where their interests will be adverse, one lawyer cannot represent both spouses in drafting a Cohabitation Agreement.
We hope these 5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips have helped you get a brief understanding of the issues you must face in planning during the good times for what might happen if you separate. Our Best Vancouver Prenup and Cohabitation Agreements Lawyers can help you obtain full disclosure and help prepare an agreement the is fair at the time you sign it and fair in the future. Contact us early on to protect your family law rights.
Share our 5 Best Vancouver Prenup Tips with a key family member or friend to make sure they do well.
