Each state has its own separate laws that govern what types of property constitute sole and separate property. Upon separation by death or divorce, the court will separate all of the marital property evenly. In order to avoid a court deciding what happens to your property attained during your marriage, you may want to establish a prenuptial agreement. 

A prenuptial agreement is a legal contract you enter into before a marriage. The purpose of a prenup is to ensure that you and your spouse-to-be enter into the marriage with a clear understanding on the division of finances in the event of a divorce or death. The terms of a prenup can vary, depending on your mutual wishes. It can cover how to split property purchased during the marriage. It can also cover how to split items you both owned prior to the marriage. Prenups can also decide who will pay specific bills over the course of the marriage.

Prenuptial agreements may be establish for the following reasons; 

To protect one spouse from the other’s debts, this prevents  creditors from going after marital property. 
To provide for children from previous relationships, this allows children to inherit from your estate.  
To keep family property in the family.  
To protect your estate plan and to assure it be carried out they way you intended it to be.
 To define property distribution upon divorce by setting up in advance who gets what in the case of a divorce. 

Below is a list of items  most commonly put in a Prenuptial Agreement;
 

• Separate business
• Retirement benefits
• Income, deductions, and claims for filing your tax returns
• Management of household bills and expenses
• Management of joint bank accounts, if any
• Arrangement regarding investing in certain purchases or projects, like a house or business
• Management of credit card spending and payments
• Savings contributions
• Property distribution to the survivor, including life insurance, in the event of death
• Arranging putting one or the other through school
• Settlement of potential disagreements, such as using mediation or arbitration

Prenuptial agreements are designed to address financially based issues only. Any prevision discussing non-financial issues will not be upheld in a court. Prenuptial agreements should always be put in writing, it is best to have an experienced attorney draft the prenuptial agreement for you to assure it holds up in court.  

 

Source=Find Law Prenuptial agreements    Lawyers.com Prenups viewed Sept. 9, 2014.