If you and your partner are recently engaged – congratulations! As you look ahead to your future together, it’s important to also look at the legal ins and outs of marriage. Attorney Robin M. Mermans shares four conversations to have with your partner before saying “I Do”.
By Robin M. Mermans, Esq. of ROAD to RESOLUTION
If you and your partner are recently engaged – congratulations! This is such an exciting time in your lives, and you should enjoy every moment of pre-marriage bliss! As you look ahead to your future together, it’s important to also look at the legal ins and outs of marriage. Tying the knot isn’t just a personal commitment to one another – it’s a legally binding contract.
As a Collaborative Family Law attorney with personal and professional experience with marriage, divorce, and parenting, I created a Pre “I Do” Education service so couples can understand the terms of the consequential legal contract called marriage, prior to saying “I Do.” Understanding various topics, including financial, professional, and familial prior to marriage can create a stronger foundation for a successful relationship. Here are five topics that are discussed with newly engaged or soon-to-be engaged couples during our Pre “I Do” Education meeting:
Finances, Assets, and Debts
Prior to getting married, financial conversations are a must.
This can be a difficult topic to approach, so having a trained professional guide the discussion is helpful. We will talk about income, taxes, assets, debts, investments, gifts, inheritance, and trusts and how your financial obligations toward one another will change once you wed.
Professional and Career Goals
While you and your soon-to-be spouse may have one outlook right now on professional careers, it could change over the next several decades together.
It’s important to discuss goals and what plans might look like from a legal standpoint if one or both of you changes careers, starts a business, leaves the workforce, loses a job, retires early, etc.
Children and Families
If you and your partner want to have children together, there are additional legal responsibilities as well as personal obligations that you’ll have to one another as well as your children.
During our meeting, we’ll explore everything child-related from finances and health insurance to childcare and parenting techniques.
Future of the Marriage
When you get married, you’re dreaming of forever, as you should.
But the reality is that half of all marriages end in divorce. Ending a marriage is never easy, so we will discuss how pre- and post-nuptial agreements can protect both parties. Divorce impacts couples in varying ways, but understanding this prior to marriage can create a stronger foundation for a successful relationship.
We’re Here to Help
ROAD to RESOLUTION’s Pre “I Do” Education takes the guesswork out of legal obligations once married. Couples will gain an understanding of how marriage impacts finances and families so they are prepared to wed with not only confidence in love but confidence in the legal consequences too.
Please give us a call at (980) 260-1600 to learn more and schedule your Pre “I Do” Education meeting.
Note: This article is intended to be informational only and shall not be construed as legal advice.
Robin M. Mermans is a Collaborative attorney, certified mediator, and co-parenting coach. She owns ROAD to RESOLUTION: Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Family Law in Charlotte. With her unique perspective as an attorney, mother, and stepmother, she is an expert in shared parenting solutions and co-parenting guidance. She is committed to using her personal story and passion to help her clients save time and money, while avoiding unnecessary emotional turmoil during their divorce journey and on their road to resolution.
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