Postnuptial Agreement Attorneys Bergen County, NJ
Divorce & Family Law Firm With Experience All Postnuptial Agreement Issues
Postnuptial agreements, like any marital agreement, can be extremely beneficial for any married couple to enter into. However, when creating any kind of postnuptial agreement, courts must take extra care, as they understand the many potential emotional influences present between married couples, and will therefore view any postnuptial agreement and its terms with an added degree of skepticism.
For this reason, if you are considering entering into any kind of postnuptial agreement, or need to contest or enforce the terms of an existing postnuptial agreement, it is extremely important that you retain the counsel of an experienced Bergen County postnuptial agreement attorney to help you represent and protect your individual needs and interests.
At The Law Office of Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, our attorneys have extensive experience handling all issues that may arise when it comes to postnuptial agreements in towns across Bergen County, including Ridgewood, Paramus, Teaneck, Hackensack, and Fort Lee.
When Should a Couple Create a Postnuptial Agreement?
Postnuptial agreements address many of the same financial issues as other marital agreements. Primarily, postnuptial agreements take up the issue of individual and joint property, and how they would be decided during the equitable distribution process in the event of a divorce. While no married couple wants to believe this will happen, the added protection of a postnuptial agreement can actually strengthen marriage and allow both parties to feel more comfortable moving forward.
Couples may wish to draft a postnuptial agreement for any number of reasons. Some of the most common reasons are:
- The couple didn’t define their financial relationship in a prenuptial agreement, and now want to do so
- One party’s financial circumstances have changed greatly, for example receiving a large inheritance, a new employment position or promotion, the pending sale of a business, or the acquisition of stocks or investment options
- Financial insecurity is damaging the stability of the marriage
- The couple wants to avoid the stress, expense, and uncertainty of a potential equitable distribution process
- One or both parties wish to secure financial support for children from a prior marriage
Of course, any time it comes to these highly complex and potentially impactful financial decisions, it is extremely important for both parties to retain the counsel of an experienced Ridgewood postnuptial agreement attorney. By having an attorney who is familiar with complex finances, marital agreements, and how the two relate, you can rest assured that your fair and legally-binding postnuptial agreement will accurately reflect the terms you have agreed upon.
Is My Postnuptial Agreement Valid?
As previously mentioned, courts have an added degree of skepticism when it comes to determining whether or not a postnuptial agreement, and the terms it contains, are valid and enforceable. This is because courts understand that sometimes, complex marital relationship dynamics play a role in influencing one party or the other into signing a postnuptial agreement, so if the courts have any reason to believe that you or your spouse were pressured into signing your postnuptial agreement, they most likely will consider the agreement invalid.
However, with that being said, it is certainly still possible for a couple to create a valid and enforceable postnuptial agreement. For any postnuptial agreement to be considered valid and enforceable, the following requirements will need to be met:
- Each party must retain separate legal counsel, or explicitly waive their right to counsel in writing
- The financial status of each party and any of the assets discussed in the agreement need to be fully and accurately disclosed
- The terms must be “fair and reasonable” to both parties. If one party is overly advantaged by the postnuptial agreement, then it may not be considered valid
- There must be no evidence of manipulation, coercion, deceit, or emotional pressure by either of the parties to the other
- Both parties must be given a reasonable amount of time to reach an informed and thoughtful decision regarding whether or not they should ultimately sign the postnuptial agreement
If these requirements are not met, the entirety of the postnuptial agreement may not be considered legal or valid. If you are concerned about whether or not your postnuptial agreement is valid, or you are in the process of contesting or affirming the validity of your postnuptial agreement, contact our attorneys today. It is best for you to discuss your situation for a clearer understanding of the factors involved, and to secure effective and knowledgeable legal representation if needed.
Contact Our Hackensack Postnuptial Agreement Lawyers Today
At Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, our attorneys have extensive experience helping clients to draft, sign, modify, contest, and affirm postnuptial agreements of all kinds in towns across Bergen County, including Ridgewood, Teaneck, Paramus, Hackensack, and Fort Lee.
By practicing exclusively family law, our firm can focus on providing each of our clients with the knowledgeable, effective, and attentive that they need and deserve in any family law matter, including marital agreements and postnuptial agreements. Our firm features many attorneys repeatedly nominated to the Super Lawyers* list as it relates to family law, a testament of our peer and industry recognition when it comes to our professional achievements, and the service we have already provided for past clients.
To speak with our family law team today in a free and confidential consultation regarding any issues, concerns, or needs you may have when it comes to a postnuptial agreement, and how we can specifically help you in your unique situation, please contact us online, or through our Hackensack, NJ office at (201) 397-1750.
* Our attorneys have received the honor of being included in the Super Lawyers and/or Super Lawyers Rising Stars list(s) published by Thomson Reuters, relative to being divorce attorneys. Their dates of inclusion are noted on the individual attorney pages. The qualifications or requirements for being included on said list can be viewed here.
