Promising to love someone for the rest of your life is a serious decision that should not be made lightly. People are typically discouraged from rushing into marriage or getting married to someone they are not sure they love.
Taking big decisions seriously is advice that can apply in many scenarios. For example, these same words of wisdom can also apply to signing a prenuptial agreement. Before you sign this legal document, it can be crucial that you give yourself the time to review it and make sure it is something you understand and agree to. Failure to do this can have some upsetting consequences.
Signing a prenup without reading or understanding it can mean you are at risk of agreeing to something you normally wouldn’t. This can lead to costly concessions and unfavorable obligations that last long after the marriage.
If you are not given enough time to review the document, make changes or negotiate different terms and you sign it anyway, the prenup could ultimately be considered invalid. In fact, not having read a prenup is one of the top 10 reasons a prenup can be deemed unenforceable.
As is the case with other legal agreements, there must be an indication that both parties were given the opportunity to consider a prenup and were not pressured into signing something they did not agree with.
It should also be noted that each party should have their own attorney when signing a prenup. Failure to do this could also make a document unenforceable.
Considering all that may be at stake in these agreements, it is wise to give yourself (and your soon-to-be spouse) ample time to speak with an attorney and review and negotiate a prenup before getting married.
Too many people think that just blindly signing a prenup is sign of trust and faith in a relationship. But the truth is that these are legal documents and should not be approached on a strictly emotional level.
