Two Financial Lives
Many couples wish to live their personal lives together, but their financial lives apart — separate incomes, separate assets, separate estates to pass on to their loved ones.
Before you take the leap, plan
What is a prenup? A plan for divorce, right? Wrong.
While a prenuptial agreement can help in the event of divorce or legal separation, many couples simply use a prenup as another form of financial and estate planning. One example? A parent entering into marriage later in life who wants to preserve her estate for her children. Another? A party with risky business ventures who wants to keep a new spouse clear of any collateral damage.
We draft prenups and review agreements drafted by others. Better yet, we do so online, so you never have to wait in traffic or a waiting room to see an attorney.
Common prenuptial provisions
Spousal Support Waiver
Another very popular provision is a limit on what, if any, spousal support or alimony will be available should the marriage end in divorce or legal separation. These provisions are tricky — depending on your state, a court could invalidate this part of the agreement unless it was done exactly as the law requires.
Children
What is the plan for the children? How many kids? Can you require your spouse to raise them according to your religious beliefs? What about limiting child support? State laws vary greatly on what you can and cannot address with regard to kids in a prenup.
Waiving Estate Rights
In many states, a spouse gets a guaranteed portion of the deceased party's property — regardless of one's will. Many couples choose to waive this spousal "election" and draw up a will or trust instead.
Joint Accounts, Property, etc.
Many couples take this opportunity to outline how any joint accounts, credit cards, or property will be held. For example, will a jointly purchased family home be owned equally or by percentage of the cost contributed?
Protect Sacrificing Spouse
What would you do for love? Anything? Many spouses give up jobs, move long distances, become stay-at-home parents, or pay for their partners' education. For such big sacrifices, a prenup can provide some financial protection, just in case.
Why Peacock Law
Online Archive
We store your prenup in a secure online locker — with bank-level encryption — for a minimum of seven years.
Plan From Anywhere
No more waiting in traffic to get to an attorney's office where you'll ... wait some more. Instead, connect to your lawyer from wherever you are comfortable. We handle the entire process online.
Clarity
No hand-scrawled notes here. We take the time to review or prepare your agreement carefully, adding annotations wherever we think the legalese is just a little too thick for normal people to understand. We'll go over your agreement word for word if necessary, to make sure you understand exactly what it is you are signing.
Real Lawyer
Though most of our clients never meet us face-to-face, you will indeed have a real lawyer working on your prenup. For some states, and some common prenuptial provisions, having a lawyer is mandatory to make the agreement enforceable.
Flat Fees
For prenuptial agreements that we draft, flat fees apply. This means no surprises and no motivation to drag out your case for as long as possible. If we're reviewing another attorney's work, we can't guarantee a flat fee — some lawyers are more long-winded than others — but we promise to work efficiently and bill clearly.
Speed
We pride ourselves on speed: calls, texts, and emails returned promptly and work done without undue delays.
Ready to get started?
Contact us for a free consultation at (888) 303-5399 or start your case review.
Your Attorney
William “Willie” Peacock, Esq.
QDRO & Retirement Division Attorney
Willie has handled hundreds of QDROs, been named as a stipulated or court-appointed expert in hundreds of orders, testified as an expert witness on QDROs and state government pension survivor benefits, and taught CLEs on QDROs, legal ethics, and military pensions. He is a three-time ABA award-winning legal author and secured a victory before the North Dakota Supreme Court. Full bio →