Celebrity divorces often highlight divorce issues that most people would never think about, unless they are a divorce attorney or going through a divorce themselves. One such common topic is prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. These are common in high-asset and celebrity divorces, but they are gaining in popularity among us in the general public. One hot button issue that many new drafters want to include is child support.
Marital agreements
In California, these agreements are known as premarital agreements. The California Family Code outlines what is allowed in premarital agreements, which we will discuss in a different post. For this post, we will focus on the basics and child support provisions specifically. These agreements essentially outline how a divorce will occur, how property will be split, spousal support, etc. They can include provisions that include punishments for bad acts, like gambling, infidelity, etc. But, can they include child support provisions?
Child support provisions
Section 1612 specifically addresses child support. It specifies that child support cannot be adversely affected by premarital agreements. This means that you can’t mitigate a future child support obligation through a premarital agreement.
What happens if child support is included?
Put simply, child support agreements in premarital documents are not enforceable. However, this does not mean the entire Claremont, California, premarital agreement will be voided entirely by this disallowed language.
Legal enforceability
Child support provisions are a prime example of why you should have your premarital agreement either drafted or reviewed by a Claremont, California, attorney. Even if you and your spouse want to draft your own agreement, an attorney can help review the document for enforceability/legality. Just because you draft and sign an agreement, it is not necessarily enforceable. Let a lawyer help.