Practicing Family Law With Heart For More Than 25 Years

What cannot be addressed in a Texas prenuptial agreement?

On Behalf of | Dec 4, 2015 | Prenuptial Agreements

The old thinking that prenuptial agreements are only for the wealthy is just that. Lots of people are protecting themselves against the possibility of divorce by putting a prenup in place early. Did you know that there are certain things that cannot be put in a prenuptial agreement?

Anything that is illegal cannot be put in a prenup. If you do, there is a good chance that the entire document will be set aside and you will end up in court over who gets what and when.

There is a place for child support and this agreement is not the place for it. The courts of the state of Texas have the final say on who pays support and how much that support will be. The court has the best interests of the child in mind and have several factors that they have to consider before the award is made.

The amount of child support cannot be limited by a prenup. The reason for this is that the child is being supported rather than the parent, so the amount cannot be limited.

Also, child custody cannot be limited or addressed in a prenuptial agreement in Texas. Again, it is the right of the child to see both parents whenever the state says that visitation can occur; therefore child custody belongs to the child, not the parent.

A prenup cannot encourage a divorce. No court in Texas will uphold a prenuptial agreement that seemingly encourages or rewards a person for getting a divorce. The courts takes this very seriously and will scrutinize the agreement that you have put in place to see if this provision or wording is in the agreement. Judges will pay close attention to any provision that gives a bonus for getting a divorce.

Getting the facts right about a prenuptial agreement in Texas is important. The Texas Family Code speaks to this. Getting your questions answered regarding this agreement is important.

Source: FindLaw, “What can Texas couples address in a prenuptial agreement?,” accessed Dec. 04, 2015

Archives

Categories