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Dad knew that once he said “I DO” he knew that his paychecks were handed over to his loving wife who would in turn take care of all the household expenses.

It was common for a woman to think – “what’s mine is mine and what’s his is mine” – which is no longer the case in today’s society.  Today things are so much different and much more complex.

Prenuptial agreements (a/k/a antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement) were unheard of years ago.  The prenuptial agreements back then, if something were to sour in the marriage, were known as DIVORCE LAWS.

But like I said – today things are different.  Our lives are different.

To begin with – a prenuptial agreement is a contract that is entered prior to taking your marriage vows.  Although a prenuptial agreement can include many different things, it is most commonly used for what would happen after the divorce – such as –
Division of property
Spousal support, etc.

There are not only prenuptial agreements for those that are planning their marriage, but there are also cohabitation agreements for unmarried couples.
Also, for those that are already married and want to enter into an agreement can file a postnuptial agreement or a post marital agreement.

The laws vary from state to state.  Years ago many judges would frown upon such agreements because they believed they were corrupting what marriage was supposed to stand for.

Each party should have an attorney representing them to make sure that this agreement is enforceable.  Many times both parties to the agreement have a private judge present during the signing to ensure that neither party was coerced into the agreement.  Many times the process is video-taped.

Should they divorce, these agreements can limit property rights and alimony.  And these agreements can also dictate what happens when one of the parties die.  Such an agreement can act as a contract to make a will and/or eliminate your rights to property, probate homestead, probate allowance, right to take as a predetermined heir, and the right to act as an executor and administrator or your spouse’s estate.

Prenuptial agreements is only valid if it is completed prior to marriage.  If a couple is already married, they may draw a post-nuptial agreements.  Such agreements must be in writing – oral agreements are not recognized.

A prenuptial agreement does not regulate issues relating to the children of the marriage in regards to custody and access issues.  Anything matters involving children must be decided in the best interest of the children.

There may be a “sunset provision” inserted in the agreement meaning that after a certain amount of time, the agreement will expire; possibly after the birth of a child, unless the parties renew the agreement.

In some states, after a certain number of years of marriage, the prenuptial agreement will lapse.

You may wonder why anyone would want a prenuptial agreement.

Since it is basically has to do with the financial consequences of the marriage ending, there are reasons for these agreements:

If you are wealthier than your partner this ensures they are marrying you for who you are and not your money -

If you make as much money as your partner this can limit the amount of alimony paid out -

If you are re-marrying your legal and financial concerns are often quite different than in your previous marriage.  There now could be children, support obligations, home ownership, etc. -

If your partner has a high debt load you don’t want to be responsible for their debts if your marriage ends -

If you own a business and your marriage ends, your spouse can end up owing a share of the business and other business partners may not want this to happen –

You don’t want your spouse to overturn your estate plan with what you want done with heirlooms, etc. –

If you are much poorer than your partner an agreement can ensure that you are financially protected -

And if you quit your job to raise your children an agreement can ensure that the financial burden of raising children is shared by both partners.

Seems today that everyone is concerned about someone or something and is running criminal checks.

Potential employers do it all the time.  Many times a criminal check is done for a house-sitter, baby-sitter, home health care aide, the new person in your life (or someone in your family’s life).

Did you know that someone may doing a criminal check on you?  Oh – I see.  You’ve done nothing wrong.  You have a clean slate.  Well you may have a criminal background and not even know it.  What about a traffic violation – even a minor one – that gets recorded?  Have you been questioned in a group or gang-related incident, even if it was just a few questions and you were let go?

Well there are search engines out there that you can check.  Most require a name, date of birth, social security number, address, or other information before you can get the results.

You can also go to a public library or the police station where the records are kept and find out if you have a criminal record.

You can also hire a private detective or an agency that specializes in doing such things and pay their fees to find out.  You can also search public record databases and access millions of public records.

What about if you are dating?  Or your son or daughter is dating?  Today you can never be too careful.  And if you have met someone on-line – there is a very good chance that this person is not who and what he/she claims to be.  A person can look nice but still be hiding a shady past.

A background check will verify the information you have on this person.  A background check can include:  Address History/Social Security Number Trace, County Criminal Records, Statewide Criminal Records, Instant Criminal History, Federal Criminal Records, Sexual Offender Registry, County Civil Records, Federal Civil Records, Drivers History, Credit Reports, Education Confirmation, Prior Employment Confirmation, License and Certificate Confirmation, Workers Compensation Records, Drug Testing, Reference Checks and any other search you’d like us to conduct.

You can do a nationwide criminal search but it may not be as accurate as it could be and can be misleading.  It may not include all states, and with all the databases relying on court records – there is a good chance that all courts do not participate.  Many that do participate give outdated information most of the time.

Do a state check and also do a county check as well.  The information you get will be much more accurate and up to date.  Besides, the county criminal searches are the most complete.  Statewide criminal searches usually base their information on databases that are run by state or private firms.  County records are researched right at the court – usually at the Superior Court level.

If there is someone that you are suspicious about, it is best search information on them for over a year.  It is the only way to protect yourself and your family.  It is for SAFETY reasons. 

Anyone can do a background check on anyone.  And no one agency or site can find out EVERYTHING.  Many times you need to really investigate.  You may have to check multiple counties or states, and you may find out that someone has multiple names and addresses.

Remember – checking out someone’s private life is something that should not be done for fun.  What are you going to do with this information?  This is the area the law is concerned with – what are you going to do with the information?  If you use this information to discriminate against a person, deny them employment, housing or entrance to a school, etc. then you are violating the law and opening yourself to big time liabilities and possible lawsuits. This is what all of the consent forms with warnings are all about. It’s not the getting of the information that the laws are concerned with but the use of it.