Navigating Marital Agreements: How They Reflect on Child Custody Outcomes

Now noting that prenuptial contracts are faced with the criticism that they view a marriage as a likely failure, the Child Custody Law Services website reminds families that using marital agreements to write out their family’s post-divorce or post-separation future can in fact add a great deal of predictability to the future. In contexts as sensitive and unpredictable as child custody, that greater certainty can help families stay focused on stability. Marriage contracts (prenuptial agreements) can govern or influence many issues that can be affected by divorce: While Child Custody Law Services directs clients’ attention to the ways that marriage agreements can afford particular rights to children in a divorce, the services make it clear that these are not the only ways that parents may benefit from their use of marriage contracts. Because much of the language used in these contracts to determine child custody is modeled after or informed by child custody laws, it also has the power to protect parents by emphasizing their continued parental rights during the post-divorce or post-separation process. There are two key reasons that prenuptial agreements can help parents secure greater guarantees regarding their parental rights after a divorce or separation. First, marriage contracts allow parents to all but guarantee a particular form of custody in divorce or separation. If this form of custody results in the shared or equal parenting of children, the custody agreement can reduce the disruption in children’s lives and assure them that both parents will be present in the long term. Second, prenuptial contracts allow parents to keep their rights front and center, even in the event of dispute. For example, if parents are engaged in a volatile divorce, the absence of a prenuptial contract might allow one parent to pursue custody aggressively while allowing his or her legal team to distract from issues such as income or education by focusing on behavioral issues or personal conflicts. Conversely, in a prenuptial agreement, parents might focus on issues including educational stability, income, potential relocations, housing and custody as shared-parenting. By outlining these rights in detail and focusing the attention of their legal teams on the child custody issues at hand, parents can make wife focus on what’s right and what’s best for the child after divorce rather than year and years of family war. Moreover, when a judge or mediator sees that parents have rooted their child custody issues in concrete matters such as schooling and housing, they may more readily award custody or visitation rights based on a child-centered interest in the future rather than the parents’ past or current conflicts. Ultimately, legal tools like prenuptial agreements allow families in Pakistan to see a brighter, better future. Consider exploring prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements now to craft a better outcome for your family later down the road.