Pre and Post-Nuptial Agreements Attorney in Portland, Oregon

What trends do you see with the use of premarital agreements?

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some years ago let’s say before 1980

premarital agreements were illegal void

against public policy the idea is we’re

not going to let the parties remove the

jurisdiction of the court to decide what

happens in the event of death or divorce

people got very upset with this

legislators finally started passing

things like the uniform premarital

agreement which 28 states have passed

including Oregon allowing for premarital

agreements in other words making them

enforcable if you follow certain

protocols full disclosure both parties

have a lawyer or know what they’re

signing and there’s sufficient time for

them to consider it in other words it

can’t be signed an hour before you say I

do what’s happened recently and by

recently I mean in the last five or 10

years there’s a huge increase in the

number of marital agreements being

signed it used to be when it got started

it was primarily between people in

second third marriages who had other

obligations aging parents children of

first marriage and so forth and often a

big distinction between one was the have

spouse one was the have not in terms of

economics now with people moving around

so much by Coastal relationships and

stuff there are people that are doing

premarital agreements just to be sure

that they know which rules apply saying

we want the law of Oregon we want the

law of Washington New York whatever it

is because frequently people I’ve done

at least a half a dozen where the party

are living in New York want to move back

to Oregon so there’s going to be an

argument if you don’t have an agreement

as to which law applies or people that

are living for two or three years one

recent one was in Australia but they

intend to move back to the US secondly

with the people my age

dying their their kids are going to

inherit some money the law about what

happens to inheritance in the event of

divorce is very different in Oregon the

court has jurisdiction to divide and

money that you inherit not true in

Washington not true in California not

true in multiple other states so I’ve

done many premarital agreements where

that’s the only issue the parties say

look all the Law whatever it is whatever

jurisdiction we get divorce is fine

except that we each whoever inherits

inherits gets to keep their inheritance

same thing is true if the parties uh

typically the parents have a going

business and they don’t want an

ex-spouse involved in the business so

the premarital agreement might say

listen this agreement only impacts the

business and in the case of divorce the

person who inherits or has the stock in

the business gets to keep that the court

has no jurisdiction to divide it so for

all of those reasons um there are many

more and it might just be that people

you know it used to be there used to be

a bit of a stigma on premarital

agreements such as in the 60s there was

a stigma on getting divorced

it might be partly just that stigma is

diminished

Contact William J. Howe III

(503) 227-1515

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Portland, OR family law attorney Bill Howe talks about the trends he sees with the use of premarital agreements. Years before 1980, he notes that premarital agreements were considered illegal and void, marked against public policy. The aim was to prevent parties from sidestepping the court’s jurisdiction in determining outcomes in the event of death or divorce. Legislators responded to public discontent by introducing measures like the uniform premarital agreement, adopted by 28 states, including Oregon. These legal changes permitted the enforcement of premarital agreements, subject to specific protocols such as full disclosure, legal representation for both parties, and adequate time for consideration.

In the last five or ten years, there has been a notable increase in the number of signed marital agreements. Initially more prevalent among individuals in second or third marriages with intricate financial dynamics, the trend has expanded. Now, people are increasingly opting for premarital agreements for various reasons, driven by a desire to specify applicable legal rules, particularly in the context of cross-country relationships. Premarital agreements serve to establish the governing law, whether in Oregon, Washington, New York, or another jurisdiction.

This surge is also linked to factors such as frequent relocations, with individuals entering agreements to ensure consistency in the legal rules that would apply in case of divorce. In instances where parties plan to inherit money or possess assets in an ongoing business, premarital agreements are utilized to safeguard these interests, given the wide variations in laws concerning inheritance and business division across different states. For instance, in Oregon, inherited money may be subject to division in divorce, while in other states like Washington or California, this may not be the case.

The once-associated stigma with premarital agreements, reminiscent of the stigma on divorce in the 60s, has waned. He observes that more people now acknowledge the practical benefits and legal clarity that premarital agreements can provide, contributing to a broader acceptance of these arrangements.

Pre and Post-Nuptial Agreements Attorney in Portland, Oregon

What trends do you see with the use of premarital agreements?

Contact William J. Howe III

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