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Can Child Custody be Included in a Prenup?

by | Feb 20, 2021 | Custody

prenuptial agreement

Prenuptial agreements can play an essential role before marriage because they help couples protect their individual assets in the event of a future divorce. While it’s essential to cover various issues in a prenup—primarily financial, many people are unsure whether child custody can be included.

Reasons for Prenuptial Agreements

There are numerous reasons for signing a prenuptial agreement before the wedding. Some of them are:

  • Retirement benefits
  • Management of bills and household expenses, including credit card payments
  • Division of properties or other investments
  • Alimony/spousal support
  • Savings contributions

Can Child Custody be Included in a Prenup?

Depending on the factors that led to this situation, child support and child custody matters are often complex—not only for financial reasons, but emotional ones as well. 

Visiting interruptions can be a problem if one parent doesn’t keep to the established schedule. Or, conflict over parenting styles can arise. One spouse’s desire to relocate is another common issue. 

So, can these topics be addressed in a prenup? Unfortunately, the answer is no. A prenuptial agreement can settle other financial matters, but child support and child custody cannot be added to a prenup. 

This is because these types of situations require a review of the financial situations of both parents. The court needs to be free to act in the best interest of dependent children, and a prenuptial agreement that included these matters would undermine that effort. 

There are other aspects of parenting that can’t be included in a prenup, either, such as parenting styles, where children will live, and where they spend holidays or family vacations.

Although, it is possible to add certain financial guarantees to a prenuptial agreement. For example, stating that the children won’t lose their inheritance in the event that the marriage ends and a former spouse chooses to remarry. That may include inheriting a family property, or other assets. 

Related Content: Top 5 Child Custody Questions to Ask Your Local Lawyer

Schedule a Consultation

If you’re considering whether or not a prenuptial agreement is right for your relationship, we can answer any questions you have in more detail. Contact us at Whipple, Mercado & Associates LLP to speak with a family law attorney today. Our office can be reached at (925) 344-5050.

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Tammy J. Mercado

Tammy J. Mercado has a passion for helping her clients achieve their desired results. She listens and she personally and promptly responds to your texts, emails and phone calls. She offers real solutions to your legal matters. Tammy will carefully evaluate the legal issues in your case, provide you with sound advice and offer you the pros and cons of each possible scenario so you can meet your legal objectives. She encourages clients to participate in their own matters. Tammy believes that client participation is key to a positive result and to keeping attorney fees as low as possible. You can be sure that she will offer you straightforward, sound and honest advice in a professional manner, with integrity and excellence.

Before opening her own law practice, Tammy worked for many high-volume law firms. This gave her extensive, diversified experience in hundreds of complex family law cases as well as civil matters. She is admitted to practice law before all courts in California and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Contra Costa Bar Association, the Alameda County Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco. Tammy is also a member of the Rotary Club of Danville.

Tammy is a graduate of John F. Kennedy School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Phoenix. Tammy is also a licensed real estate broker, which comes in handy for valuing property in family law cases as well as real estate matters in the civil arena.

During her off time, Tammy is an avid sailor who crews and races on various boats in the San Francisco Bay. Tammy approaches each case as she would any yacht race: by assessing the other’s strengths, weaknesses, experience, equipment, history and reputation. She is a member of the American Sailing Association, and she is a certified Coast Guard Auxiliary member.

HONORS AND AWARDS
Tammy was selected to receive the prestigious “Business Person of the Year” Award in 2017 for the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce.

Tammy is currently serving as Danville Rotary President for 2017 through 2019.

Mary C. Whipple, CFLS

Mary C. Whipple opened her first law practice in the summer of 2008. She previously was an associate attorney at the Law Office of Cummins & Holmes, a full-service civil litigation law firm in San Ramon. The majority of her experience is in family law, which includes divorce, custody, support, prenuptial agreements and domestic-violence restraining orders. Certified by the California State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization, she is a specialist in the area of family law. Mary has also represented clients in a variety of non-family-law cases, including juvenile dependency, probate, breach of contract and employment disputes, to name a few.

Mary also previously worked as a contract attorney for O’Melveny & Meyers in San Francisco while simultaneously volunteering at the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Volunteer Legal Services Program, representing defendants in unlawful detainer actions. The program acknowledged Mary with an Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Award in 2006 for her efforts in providing access to justice.

A seventh-generation Californian, Mary is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She earned her Bachelor of Science in criminology at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the Alameda County Bar Association, and the Contra Costa County Bar Association.

In addition, Mary is active in her community as a member of the Ambassador’s Committee for the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce; a volunteer at the Contra Costa County and Alameda County Superior Courts, where she assists self-represented litigants in completing their divorces; and a member of Divorce Angel, where she provides information regarding family law matters to members of the community. Since 2007 she has been a volunteer judge for Alameda and Contra Costa County’s Annual High School Moot Court Competition. She is also a member of the Danville/Sycamore Valley Rotary Club. She was awarded the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce 2012 Business Person of the Year; and a graduate of the 2012 class of Leadership San Ramon Valley.

CERTIFIED LEGAL SPECIALTIES
Certified Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization