prenuptial-agreement living
Is a Prenuptial Agreement a &quot;living document&quot;?
<p>I had a &quot;Property (Contracting Out) Agreement&quot; (Prenup)   drawn about the time I got married many years ago.</p>
<p>Recent life events require that I revisit my financial affairs (not related to my Marriage), and my Lawyer advised that a Prenup is a  &quot;Living Document&quot; and should be reviewed.  He persisted with this view - possibly for reasons I don't grasp - even when I advised him I really do not want to review the Prenup &quot;and that it is what it is&quot; (because it will put unnecessary stress on my relationship, and because I can't see what revisiting it achieves and it would be a point of pain in my relationship).</p>
<p>My lawyers advice about it being a living document sounds wrong and feels like the lawyer is just trying to up their billables at my expense without having my interests forefront - which would be a concerning development. <strong>Is his advice that a Prenup is a living document correct?</strong></p>
<p>(I live in New Zealand - not sure if that makes any difference)</p>

<h2>Sounds like you aren't sharing the same definition of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_document" rel="nofollow noreferrer">living document</a></h2>
<p>A prenup is simply a contract, and most contracts are &quot;fixed&quot; at the time of their formation: the rights and obligations of each party are defined for all time (or for as long as the contract lasts). This is not what I and I suspect you, would understand to be a living document.</p>
<p>However, some contracts contain terms that allow their terms to be varied - either by agreement or unilaterally. That sort of contract would be a living document.</p>
<p>Notwithstanding, any contract can be varied or replaced with a new contract until by agreement of all parties as long as the contract is still on foot. Your lawyer may be thinking of the prenup in this way, and, at a stretch, that would make it a living document.</p>
<p>Your lawyer's advice is sound - your circumstances have changed, and you should at least look at the prenup to decide if you are still happy with its terms in light of your new circumstances. That's a review.</p>
<p>It most definitely &quot;is what it is&quot;, but if &quot;what it is&quot; doesn't suit your relationship's current status, you can, with the agreement of your partner, change &quot;what it is&quot;. Without reviewing it, you can't make an informed decision if the current agreement even makes sense in the light of the present. It may be that you're perfectly happy with &quot;what it is&quot;, or that you're unhappy but trying to change it would make you more unhappy, or that discussing it like adults with your partner and deciding to change or not change is a good or bad idea. But you can't know unless you do the review first.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Is his advice that a Prenup is a living document correct?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a sense. It's a smart advice of a salesperson.</p>
<p>With or without a lawyer, you need to understand if the existing prenup still works for you.</p>
<p>Steps to get that understanding:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Read the existing prenup, make sure you understand every fancy legal term used in it and how it applied to you at the time it was written.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Identify the differences in your current situation to what it was back then.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Figure if the prenup still works for you now. If not, figure how would you like to change it, and whether your partner would agree.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>You would need a lawyer only if:</p>
<ul>
<li>You can't do the above on your own; or</li>
<li>You can, and you realise that you actually want to make changes to the prenup. These would need to comply with <a href="https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1976/0166/latest/DLM441396.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">s 21F of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976</a>.</li>
</ul>
