Celeb Justin Timberlake agrees to prenuptial clause with wife Jessica Biel
Renowned actress Gwyneth Paltrow recently used the term “conscious uncoupling” to explain that she is on the verge of a breakup and headed to divorce court. Across social media circles, speculation about potentially adulterous behavior ran high. Katherine Woodward Thomas, the psychotherapist who actually coined the term, explained that conscious uncoupling is a process of dissolving a relationship in a way that reduces harm to families.
Can conscious uncoupling be made part of a prenuptial agreement? Yes, it can be incorporated as a lifestyle clause along with other activities and provisions that are not typically considered when thinking about prenuptial agreements. Can cheating and extramarital affairs be included in prenuptial agreements? What effect can such clauses have on money, investments, real estate and other assets?
What is the Purpose of a Prenuptial Agreement?
Premarital agreements are treated differently across various jurisdictions. Certain states will have limits on what couples can include and leave out of marital and separate property. Prenuptial agreements are essentially legal instruments that seek to establish a division of property, and they are not even the most effective instruments in this regard.
Irrevocable trusts are increasingly being used as an effective alternative to prenuptial agreements. These trusts do not present the premarital awkwardness of having the future groom and bride sit down and have an unromantic conversation about what’s mine and what’s not yours. Irrevocable trusts serve many purposes; they are primarily instruments of asset protection that do not involve the signature or even knowledge of a fiancé or fiancée. These legal structures are ideal for making sure that personal assets are not at the mercy of a future spouse.
Prenuptial agreements frequent purposes and uses are as are often used as tools for bargaining and negotiation before the marriage is consummated; some couples see them as a test of character and moral standing, and herein lies the problem. Prenups should focus on defining personal and marital assets and other financial matters; incorporating lifestyle clauses does not help to keep this focus.
Unusual Prenup Lifestyle Clauses
The existence of a prenuptial agreement whereby a couple agrees to cheat on each other has been alleged among celebrity gossip circles, but such premarital lifestyle clauses have not actually been substantiated.
Lifestyle clauses are essentially non-financial provisions in prenuptial agreements. The nature of these lifestyle clauses centers on behavior, and they may range from taking out the garbage to how often the couple should go on vacations together and from staying under a certain weight to infidelity.
Cheating clauses on prenups fuel the collective mind of popular culture and gossip journalism. It is alleged that actor Michael Douglas risks losing millions of dollars should he stray from the lovely Catherine Zeta-Jones. Pop singer and actor Justin Timberlake reportedly agreed to a similar prenuptial clause with his wife Jessica Biel.
Family law attorneys who have worked with couples seeking to add lifestyle clauses to their prenuptial agreements remind them that may be considered unenforceable in some states, and that they may be rendered invalid in some cases. Infidelity, even when provisioned by a prenuptial agreement, may turn into adultery and become grounds for divorce. There are no monetary penalties associated with adultery; nonetheless, if the wandering spouse spent money on a lover, he or she might have to reimburse the cheated wife or husband.
Unusual lifestyle clauses such as the ones described above are not commonly found in irrevocable trusts. The focus is on asset protection and estate planning. Should infidelity lead to the dissolution of a marriage, the assets protected by an irrevocable trust structure remain safe. In a divorce proceeding, a judge will only take a look at the assets outside of the trust to check for marital assets because assets placed inside the trust are by definition – not martial; the integrity of the instrument is never challenged.
Moral Deterrent to Infidelity of Prenuptial Agreements Lifestyle Clauses
When talking about infidelity, whether it is part of a prenuptial agreement by means of a lifestyle clause or not, there are issues of burden of proof and reasonable doubt to consider. In a way, these lifestyle clauses are not very common because most people will question the moral certainty and legal enforceability of marital infidelity, even when it is ironed out on a legal instrument such as a prenuptial agreement.
The problem with borderline sordid prenuptial agreements is that they can end up being challenged in court and thus become part of the public record. Even when they are unenforceable, some couples may think of lifestyle clauses as moral deterrents to infidelity. To this end, the last thing a married couple would like to see during divorce proceedings is their personal life choices being discussed in family court.
Many legal experts think that mixing lifestyle clauses with financial provisions in prenuptial affairs is not a good idea. For this reason, a premarital agreement may include what is known as a severability clause that allows lifestyle clauses to be separated from the contract for the purpose of keeping the financial provisions enforceable.
In the end, couples who wish to make certain financial arrangements before tying the knot are advised to take a good look at irrevocable trusts instead of prenuptial agreements. Depending on the specific financial situation of the bride or groom, only one of them may need a trust, but each can choose to protect their assets with an individual trust. To find out more about how an irrevocable trust can help you retain control of future outcomes better than a prenup, please call us now at (888) 938-5872.