Married couples who are engaged in the process of estate planning can sometimes come to an impasse. There are a lot of decisions to make, and when you are deciding how to distribute community property there are different perspectives that can be taken.
Estate Planning involves some important decisions, and there are no guarantees with regard to both partners agreeing on everything.
One possible solution that exists would be the creation of a post-marital agreement that identifies the personal property of each partner in the marriage. Once this has been accomplished, independent estate planning decisions could be made by each individual.
There are other reasons why a couple may want to enter into a post-marital agreement.
You may have entered into a second or third marriage without executing a premarital agreement. If you have children from a previous marriage and you are concerned about their inheritances, you could ask your spouse to enter into a post-marital agreement that enables you to ensure the future financial well-being of your children.
A post-marital agreement can serve a purpose outside of an estate planning context as well.
Money can cause problems within a marriage. What if you were passionate about starting a business and your husband or wife thought it was a bad idea? He or she may be concerned about the financial well-being of the family and the legacy that will be available to your children if the business does not do well.
By executing a post-marital agreement, the assets could be divided in a mutually amenable manner and each individual would be free to make independent financial decisions.
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