You may already share a child with your fiancé, who you plan to marry in the very near future. Or, you may already feel very protective over the coming child you plan to have with your fiancé soon after your nuptials. At any rate, you may want to plan what should happen to your child in the unfortunate event your marriage with your soon-to-be spouse does not pan out as expected. That is, you may want to outline child custody terms and conditions in a contract, more specifically in a prenuptial agreement. Well, continue reading to learn whether you can include child custody orders in your prenuptial agreement at all and how one of the experienced Somerset County prenuptial agreement lawyers at the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC can help you establish a valid one.
Before you get too ahead of yourself, you must be aware that you cannot and should not include child custody orders in your prenuptial agreement. This is because child custody is considered a matter of public policy. Though you may not think so initially, your and your fiancé’s interests in a certain child custody arrangement may very well go against community morals and standards.
So, it is up to the New Jersey family court to give a final ruling on child custody, in the event of a divorce case, based on public policy. Specifically, public policy is that a child’s best interest should be at the forefront of any custody arrangement. Usually, a child’s best interest is maintaining a relationship with both parents. So, a joint custody decision is typically reached.
Rest assured, if there is ever a time of divorce, you and your former spouse may bring forward a proposed child custody arrangement as negotiated in mediation sessions. The court may then do its best to agree to or meet your preferences if they are morally sound.
The New Jersey family court may void the specific section of your prenuptial agreement with child custody provisions if you accidentally included one. However, at the time of divorce, there are only so many errors you and your former spouse can make before the court invalidates your contract entirely. Without further ado, below are other provisions that may make your prenuptial agreement unenforceable:
If you are strongly considering establishing a prenuptial agreement, please consult with one of the skilled Somerset County family lawyers. Notably, our team also handles postnuptial agreements. So please contact the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC today.
