A premarital agreement (or a prenuptial agreement) is a contract entered into by two people, before they marry and after making full financial disclosures to each other. The agreement seeks to establish certain rights and obligations should the marriage end in divorce.

When a divorce action commences, a divorcing party can ask a judge to allow the agreement to control on the issues in it (generally alimony or spousal support and the division of assets or property).

In Massachusetts, however, issues concerning children are left to the court’s authority with the court charged with seeking and protecting the best interests of the child. While the parties’ agreement may be considered by a judge on these matters, it is a non-controlling factor in the court’s best interests’ analysis.

Since a premarital agreement is a contract between two parties, each has competing interests in its terms. As a result, our lawyers do not draft or review contracts for couples and we can only represent one person in any premarital agreement services we provide.

The use of separate lawyers assists each person in understanding the contract they are entering. Further, the evidence of representation could be helpful in rebutting any later claims that the premarital agreement was misunderstood, unfair, or unreasonable when entered into.