The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers just issued a survey of divorce attorneys that says more clients have been asking for prenups over the past five years. More women are initiating the requests, and more agreements include pensions and retirement benefits, it found.
It isn't a good idea for the same counsel to represent both the parents in setting up a trust and the child in the prenup if there has been any kind of clash over whether to get the prenup, according to Beth Shapiro Kaufman, a partner at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C. Most state laws require that the child and his or her spouse have separate counsel. Sometimes, parents are looking to hire two lawyers, one for their child and one for the spouse, she added.
Where the wedding has already occurred and parents are concerned, a post-nuptial agreement can also work, according to Kaufman.
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