Things that are unenforceable in a prenup

Many married couples are discovering the advantages of entering into a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage. In fact, over half of all attorneys in the United States reported an increase in the number of requested prenups, as per a report in Time.

In the event a couple divorces, both parties may assume the prenup will take care of everything. However, it is easy for one person to overlook a key component of a prenup, which has the potential to significantly inconvenience the person later in life. Both attorneys will look at the prenup before beginning the divorce proceedings. Sometimes there are features in the document that are simply unenforceable.

Child custody or child support

The court is ultimately responsible for determining what living arrangement is in the best interest of the child. The parents cannot determine who receives custody, especially if the couple did not share any children prior to the marriage.

Personal matters

A prenup can help outline who receives what property in the event of a divorce, but it cannot state what happens for more personal matters. For example, a prenup cannot lay out who does what chores and where the couple will spend the holidays. A prenuptial agreement should focus solely on financial issues.

Anything that encourages a divorce

This is more open to the interpretation of the judge, but the judge may determine there are certain issues discussed in the prenup that encourage one party to divorce the other. This could involve financial perks if one person files for divorce within a certain timeframe.

Illegal activities

If the prenup suggests the couple engages in illegal activity, then it will become very troubling to the judge. It is possible for the judge to throw away the document completely, including points unrelated to the illegal activity. As long as both spouses have their respective attorneys review the prenup prior to the marriage, everything should be fine.