How to Write a Premarital Agreement

• 1). Make a complete list of you and your fiancé's current assets and debts. The list will be identified in the agreement as your respective premarital assets and debts.
  
  
• 2). Determine how you expect the premarital assets and debts will be handled in the event of the divorce. You can decide that these assets and debts remain separate property and will go back to the person who accumulated them before the marriage, or you can decide that this property becomes marital property.
  
  
• 3). Decide how you will handle the property you acquire during the marriage--the marital property. This will include your income, the things you buy and the debt you incur. Typically, this property is considered jointly owned and would be split evenly in the event of a divorce, but you can decide on a different arrangement.
  
  
• 4). Decide how you will manage your income and marital property. This is where you discuss your long-term financial goals, as well as day-to-day management of the bills and expenses for the household.
  
  
• 5). Decide how you will handle old debt and accumulate new debt, particularly with respect to credit cards. You can prioritize the payment of old debt before any new debt is incurred and decide under what circumstances either of you can incur debt unilaterally for the marriage.
  
  
• 6). Decide how work issues will be handled, such as career changes, relocating for a job and whether both spouses are expected to be working full time throughout the marriage. This will probably also include issues regarding children and one parent staying home for child care at some point during the marriage.
  
  
• 7). Decide how you will handle issues of alimony. Most states give the right to claim alimony to both spouses, but you can decide to place limits on alimony such as duration and amount.