Everyone who gets married wants it to be perfect and last forever. You may spend so much time planning your perfect wedding and your perfect life together that you neglect to make plans for preventing future problems. Regardless of sexual orientation, marriages all have problems, and some do not survive. Thus, it is important for same-sex engaged couples to make the same plans that heterosexual couples make, with a prenuptial agreement.

In a prenuptial agreement, gender should have no role. The goal is to create a legally enforceable contract in which the assets of each person’s pre-marriage assets are protected, lessening discord in the often unforeseeable event of a failed marriage.

It is much easier to determine which assets were obtained before the marriage from which assets were obtained jointly if you have a prenuptial agreement. Any property that you have, such as homes, vehicles, stocks or bonds, etc. should be protected. An experienced family attorney with the knowledge and specialty in the changing same-sex laws can make all the difference in ensuring that you both have protected your interests and can enter the marriage with peace of mind.

Divorce is a difficult process for any couple, and it can be all the more stressful with problems surrounding money and property. Much of this can be avoided entirely just by having a prenuptial agreement in place. This is also an excellent way to start responsible conversations about the financial decisions that will be made together. For example, will you merge your bank accounts? Who is your beneficiary on various accounts? Will that change? What about assets under the prenup umbrella? You’ll want to talk about all of these things with an LGBT family attorney before you walk down the aisle, so you can do so with total confidence. You also want to make sure that both partners are financially secure in the event of a divorce, that marital assets are divided fairly, and that any inheritance issues surrounding children from previous relationships are addressed. A prenuptial agreement will address all of these things, based on your situation.