Although it is not common, yes, you can sign an agreement after marriage. In fact, you can make a financial agreement at any time during your wedding. Most couples sign their agreement before marriage because they all have a good relationship and are looking forward to the next big step in their lives. Even if you have a prenup before the wedding, you will need to change it regularly if your financial situation changes or if you make large purchases. With any wedding, but especially high-profile celebrity weddings, the old mantra “hope for the best, but plan for the worst” still rings true. With our good wishes, we want to make a cautious proposal to the happy couple to conclude a post-marriage contract. This handy list of pros and cons will help you think when you decide to enter into a prenuptial or conjugal contract before you get married. In India, marriage contracts are very rare and have no applicable laws. However, with rising divorce rates, people are showing a growing interest in them. Some lawyers believe that prenups in India do not have a legal sanctity. However, in some cases, some form of contract is signed, usually between wealthy citizens.
Indian courts allow the signing of a settlement memorandum during the divorce. But no court has yet been tasked with enforcing a prenup. [6] Parties may waive disclosure beyond what is provided for and there is no need for notarization, but this is good practice. There are special requirements if the parties sign the agreement without a lawyer, and the parties must have independent counsel if they limit spousal assistance (also known as spousal support or spousal support in other states). The parties must wait seven days after the prenuptial agreement has been submitted for review before signing it, but it is not necessary for this to be done a certain number of days before the wedding. [53] Prenups often take months to negotiate, so they shouldn`t be left until the last minute (as people often do). If the prenup requires the payment of a lump sum at the time of divorce, it can be assumed that it favours divorce. This concept has been challenged and a lawyer should be consulted to ensure that the prenup does not violate this provision. [Citation needed] For example, a prenuptial agreement may make it clear that there is a joint bank account used by both partners to spend on joint expenses, savings, and investments, while each party may want to keep some of its respective income for itself to spend at will.
In this way, not only will there be less conflict about how and why a spouse spends their money, but each party will have financial autonomy during the marriage to spend some of their own money at will, while the mutual goals of the marriage will be achieved through the joint account. In most cases, if a marriage contract has been properly executed and signed by both spouses, its terms are enforceable in court. However, there are certain situations where a prenup may be deemed unenforceable, including: These agreements may fall under the Indian Contract Act of 1872. Section 10 of the Indian Contracts Act states that agreements must be considered contracts if they are entered into with the free consent of the parties. [7] However, section 23 of the same Act states that a contract may be void if it is immoral or contrary to public order. [8] In many of these countries, spouses can also protect undivided property and money from bankruptcy and can be used to support lawsuits and settlements during marriage (for example. B, if a party has illegally sold or pledged property set aside by its partner). A marriage contract can be considered invalid under various conditions and scenarios. First of all, a prenup must be written and signed by both parties and executed correctly.
In addition, a prenup that was signed under duress or that was not even read before signing (for example.B. as part of a set of documents requesting signatures) cannot be considered valid. Other reasons why a state may not recognize a marriage contract include the lack of independent legal counsel (for each spouse), false information, and lack of scruples. In the past, couples entered into prenuptial agreements with some degree of uncertainty as to their validity. Today, the presumed validity and applicability of such agreements in states that have adopted upSA/UPMAA, including Florida[24], Virginia[25], New Jersey[26] and California[27] are no longer in question. [28] The final version of the prenup must be submitted to the party whose lawyer did not draft the agreement at least seven days before the signature of the prenup […].