Pre-Marital Agreements, also called prenuptial agreements or "prenups", are binding legal contracts between two people who intend to marry.

A common purpose of these agreements is to ensure that the separate assets of each person will remain their separate assets if the marriage fails. Often prenups are used to clarify what will happen to one's property when they die and ensure that their separate property is passed to their children. And because close to half of all marriages end in divorce, a prenup is a smart way to avoid potential arguments and agree in advance how property will be divided and make agreements about spousal support (alimony). Without a prenup, state law determines who owns property acquired during marriage and whether or not spousal support will be paid. If these laws are not suitable for you and your intended spouse, a prenup, which in most cases allows you to make your own decisions about property and support, may be worth considering.

Either a Collaborative Prenuptial Agreement or Prenuptial Agreement Mediation are cooperative rather than adversarial approaches to prenups that allow both parties to work together to discuss the law, the goals and interests of each, potential problems, and craft an agreement together that meets the needs of both. With a mediated prenup, you should each have an independent attorney review the final agreement, for enforceability purposes.