A Kentucky postnuptial agreement, similar to a prenuptial agreement but signed after marriage, outlines how a couple’s assets will be divided in case of divorce or death. Both serve as valuable estate planning tools to ensure a fair asset distribution.
Legal Considerations
- Signing Requirements: Both parties must sign the agreement. (Luck v. Luck (1986)
- Dividing Property: Equitable division. (KRS 403.190)
Understanding Postnuptial Agreements in Kentucky
Considerations
- Permitted Content: The parties may create a written agreement that includes provisions for spousal maintenance, property disposition, and child custody, support, and visitation.
- Support and Custody: In cases of separation or divorce, judges are not obligated to enforce agreements regarding child custody, support, and visitation, as per KRS 403.180(2).
- Binding Terms: As per KRS 403.180(2), judges must adhere to the agreement unless it is deemed unfair after reviewing the parties’ financial situations and relevant evidence.
- Unconscionability: A court must evaluate the reasonableness of an agreement when a party seeks to enforce it, as per Edwardson v. Edwardson (1990).
Asset and Property Rights
Property Ownership
- A married woman can own, manage, and sell her property, just like a single woman.
- She can make contracts, sue, and be sued independently.
- She can also rent out property and manage the income from it herself.
- Transfers of personal property between spouses need to be in writing and properly recorded to be valid against third parties.
- Recordings won’t validate any transfer that is deemed fraudulent or voidable by creditors or purchasers [1] .
Estate Planning and Inheritance
Non-Probate Transfers on Death
- A non-probate transfer on death in legal instruments (e.g., insurance policies, employment contracts, trusts) is non-testamentary.
- Allows for the designation of beneficiaries to receive money or property upon the decedent’s death, as specified in the instrument or a separate document.
- Includes clauses where payments cease upon the death of involved parties.
- The rights of creditors are not affected by these provisions [2] .
