Prenup errors to keep away from: Skilled ideas for Kiwi {couples} and their belongings

Michael Jordan’s spouse of 17-years, and mom to his three youngsters, Juanita, walked away from their divorce with a cool US$168m ($277m) as a result of the couple had not signed a prenup after they married in 1989. Jordan insisted on a prenup along with his second spouse, Yvette Prieto, who he married in 2013. Prieto, a former mannequin, reportedly receives US$1m ($1.6m) per 12 months of marriage, growing to US$5m ($8m) yearly after 10 years.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his first spouse MacKenzie didn’t signal a prenup both. That meant philanthropist MacKenzie turned one of many richest folks on this planet after their divorce, with a reported US$38 billion ($62b) settlement, of which she donated US$26.3b ($43.5b) to charity. Bezos and his second spouse, Lauren Sánchez, reportedly signed an “iron-clad” prenuptial settlement earlier than their 2025 marriage to guard his US$200b+ fortune

But the authorized association, or lack thereof, isn’t only for the wealthy and well-known.

Stats NZ numbers present 7497 Kiwis have been granted a divorce in 2024, a slight lower from 2023, when 7995 {couples} legally separated.

And specialists say it’s changing into extra widespread for Kiwi marriages to have some type of the authorized settlement in place.

Some recommend the rise in demand for prenups is because of one-in-three Kiwis accessing “the bank of mum and dad” to get on the property ladder, and the excessive value of housing.

“[Parents] probably don’t want the spouse to get half of that kind of prepaid inheritance as a windfall on the ending of a relationship,” Joanna Pidgeon, director of legislation agency Pidgeon Judd, beforehand advised the Herald.

“So there might need to be a relationship property agreement recording that a gift essentially remains the property of the child if the relationship ends.”

Family and divorce lawyer Sharon Chandra has spent over a decade working in divorce proceedings in Aotearoa and has seen just about each scenario play out, from infidelity, companions shedding their fortunes, and contracting-out agreements and negotiations gone bitter.

Chandra beforehand spoke to the Herald in regards to the widespread errors Kiwi {couples} make that result in splits, and easy methods to keep away from the largest errors when divorcing.

Now she explains every part Kiwis have to learn about prenups, what occurs when it’s worthwhile to invoke them, and errors to keep away from.

What precisely is a prenup?

A prenuptial settlement is a legally binding contract that protects your belongings by legislation within the occasion that your relationship ends by separation or demise.

What can a prenup cowl?

This sort of contract can cowl just about your entire belongings and money owed which can be owned personally by every partner or accomplice.

Who can really draw up a prenup?

Lawyers have to be concerned to ensure that a prenup to be legally binding, as there’s a authorized requirement that each events get hold of unbiased authorized recommendation.

This entails every celebration being suggested about their authorized entitlement in comparison with the phrases of the prenup, and this requires getting the values of all of the belongings assessed.

How widespread are prenups in New Zealand?

In my expertise, they’re extra widespread for “later in life” fashion relationships, the place folks have been married beforehand and produce belongings right into a relationship, or they’ve youngsters from a previous relationship.

Can you get a prenup after you might be already married?

Absolutely, you may get one at any time throughout a relationship.

What occurs when it’s worthwhile to invoke your prenup?

It begins by each events getting on the identical web page about what belongings/money owed are within the pool of property and what the prenup says about how they need to be divided. This course of often happens by means of legal professionals.

What are some widespread errors folks make with prenups?

Not getting a prenup early sufficient within the relationship is a typical mistake folks make.

By the time folks realise they need one, the opposite celebration’s [legal] entitlements have already arisen, as a result of after getting been dwelling collectively for not less than three years, the legislation requires you to equally share all of the belongings you’ve got accrued within the interval you’ve got been dwelling collectively.

It’s additionally problematic if one celebration fails to reveal all their belongings, or correct valuations aren’t obtained for all of the belongings when drawing up a prenup.

To keep away from this, it’s vital to verify there may be full and clear disclosure of all belongings on the time the prenup is signed. Otherwise, there may be at all times going to be a danger that the prenup shall be challenged because of a scarcity of disclosure.

The different subject is that if a pair tries to enter right into a prenup themselves with out the help of legal professionals, e.g., utilizing on-line templates with out realising {that a} prenup is barely legally binding if legal professionals log out on it.

Does everybody getting married want some form of prenup?

Not essentially. It’s solely in case you have or count on to obtain belongings that you just need to shield out of your partner or accomplice that it is best to take into consideration getting one.

Jenni Mortimer is the New Zealand Herald’s chief life-style and leisure reporter. She began on the Herald in 2017 and has beforehand labored as life-style, leisure and journey editor.