From an ideal legal standpoint, a Texas prenuptial agreement should complement your estate plan and will, expressing your wishes in marriage and at the end of life. However, when death occurs, it can be alarming to discover that a loved one’s will does not reflect the choices made in a prenuptial agreement. When considering whether a will overrides a prenuptial agreement when the documents express inconsistent intentions, the answer depends on the situation.
Our prenuptial agreement attorneys in Pearland, TX, can help you craft legally binding contracts that outline your wishes concerning your assets. The team at Terry & Roberts also offers legal guidance at every stage of life to keep your documents up to date and more cohesive.
Why Have a Prenuptial Agreement and a Will?
People often create wills and prenuptial agreements at different times. Prenuptial agreements create a legal contract between you and your spouse, establishing an agreed-upon plan in the event of marriage dissolution, determining factors such as:
- Division of property in a divorce
- Debt allocation
- Inheritance rights
A will addresses many of the above issues in addition to other assets and estate decisions upon your death. A will provides your family and the court with direction on how to distribute your assets.
A prenuptial agreement and a last will and testament are created at different stages of life and in marriage. Feelings and circumstances may change, causing a discrepancy between the two documents. An enforceable will can help provide clarity and remove the emotional or financial challenges that may arise when the estate is subject to Texas intestacy laws.
What Happens When a Will and Prenuptial Agreement Conflict?
In most instances, a prenuptial agreement often takes precedence over a will when a spouse dies, even though the will is likely to have been created more recently. When the documents conflict, the terms in a prenuptial agreement often supersede the deceased’s wishes specified in a will—but not always.
When prenuptial agreements and wills conflict in Texas, the courts generally intervene to interpret the terms of a prenuptial contract and seek a resolution to conflicting information in a will. Carefully constructed prenuptial agreements, distinctly defining the handling of assets at death, generally take precedence over a will’s directives.
What to Know About Prenuptial Agreements and Wills
When the documents conflict, a prenuptial agreement typically takes precedence over a will when both are enforceable. To ensure that your prenuptial agreement is enforceable in Texas, both parties must enter into the agreement voluntarily and with full disclosure of their financial circumstances. Omitting information pertinent to a prenuptial agreement or providing misinformation may render the document voidable or otherwise unenforceable.
Specific provisions outlined in a prenuptial agreement that address assets and inheritance at the time of death may be upheld by the courts even when presented with a conflicting will.
An individual may decide to file a lawsuit against the deceased spouse’s estate when a prenuptial agreement conflicts with a will, impacting the division of assets, such as an inheritance, reinforcing the significance of revisiting legal documents.
Is Updating a Prenuptial Agreement or Will Possible in Texas?
Reviewing legal documents with a Pearland prenuptial agreement attorney at various increments in life is crucial to ensure the wishes you express in one document complement the other. Changing a prenuptial agreement and a will is possible by creating new agreements. Aligning the guidelines in a prenuptial agreement with a will is possible by creating a postnuptial agreement.
Entering into a postnuptial agreement occurs during marriage and should reflect fairness to both spouses. Postnuptial agreements can impact community property that a couple shares and often override defaults of community property laws in Texas, allowing a spouse to transfer or convert assets, such as separate property, to their spouse.
Creating a new will is the most straightforward way to change an existing will that may not adequately express your wishes or align with a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. You may also use a codicil to amend an existing will when minimal changes are necessary. However, amending the documents or creating new ones requires witnesses and signatures.
When Should I Amend My Documents?
Couples may wish to keep specific portions of a premarital agreement while updating others. As your family changes and you experience significant life events, it is essential to review your legal documents more frequently with the guidance of a qualified attorney. Review prenuptial contracts when these circumstances apply to discuss their impact on your agreement:
- If you update your will, ensure the division of assets in the documents does not present conflicting information
- The birth or adoption of a child changes the way you want to distribute assets, such as separate property
- You want to assign a specific asset designation to a particular child
- A death in the family impacts the provisions in the agreement
- Spouses want to adjust the classification of separate and community property
- Significant financial changes occur, such as a spouse receiving an inheritance
- You experience a career change that impacts your finances, or you start a business
This is not an exhaustive list of situations that may prompt an adjustment or necessitate the establishment of a postnuptial agreement.
The emotions and pace of life that come with life changes often remove the urgency of addressing personal legal documents.
However, taking these actions can protect your family, provide clarity in times of stress and loss, and minimize disputes when the wishes expressed in a prenuptial agreement align with those in a will.
When Might a Will Override a Prenuptial Agreement
Depending on the facts of the claim, a will may override prenuptial agreements that are determined by the courts to be unenforceable. Prenuptial agreements that a spouse signs due to coercion or while experiencing duress may be deemed invalid by the courts. Unconscionable terms in a contract may also render it unenforceable, giving precedence to the wishes of the deceased’s will.
A spouse hiding or concealing assets from their partner when creating a prenuptial agreement may also render the agreement unenforceable. The courts may also determine that a will more truly communicates the wishes of the deceased when evidence supports a testator’s intentions. Working with a Pearland prenuptial agreement attorney can help prevent potential conflicts in essential documents.
Work With Our Pearland Prenuptial Agreement Attorneys
Our team of family law attorneys in Pearland, Texas, can assist you if you are ready to create a prenuptial agreement or you want to amend an existing agreement. Scheduling a regular review of your legal documents with a prenuptial agreement attorney at Terry & Roberts allows you to ensure your prenuptial agreement supports a will and expresses your current wishes for asset division.