Do I Need a Prenuptial Agreement If I Don’t Own a Business Now, But I Have Startup Ideas?

When it comes to tech startups, prenuptial agreement is an absolute must-have. This is because prenuptial agreements are not just about physical assets, but also businesses, business ideas, and startup ideas, which can (eventually) result in a significant amount of income that is otherwise subject to equitable division in states like Florida upon divorce. In other words, you don’t need to have a lot of money at the moment, but if you expect to have a lot someday due to a startup, a prenup may apply to you even more so.

This is perhaps why there has been such a spike in a number of prenuptial been to being sought after by couples. People’s ideas of fairness when it comes to privately help businesses are changing and, when it comes to individual passions, agreements should reflect these passions. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that the judge won’t throw out your prenuptial agreement if it is drafted poorly. Sadly, this happens more frequently than you may realize.

What Venture Capital Firms Require to Protect Founders & Investors

In addition, when it comes to venture capital firms, founders often require legal language protecting investments in the event of divorce. In fact, not only do these protections apply to investments, but spouses often have to sign “spousal consent” forms as well, which can specify who votes for board members, when shares can be sold, who controls the company in any way after divorce, etc. This is because investors do not want to become involuntary business owners with someone they do not know and who may not be qualified. In fact, when it comes to some companies, the founder is the brand and that founder’s name and credibility is instrumental to investments. Caution sometimes even needs to be shown when it comes to keeping investors informed that a divorce is underway.

In this endeavor, it is helpful to know that companies to publicly traded can make divorce negotiations easier. One example of this is Amazon.com.

Work with A Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer Who Knows What They Are Doing

Still, that doesn’t mean that, when it comes to protecting startups and their investors, you don’t need to involve an attorney who knows the specifics and has experience in them because serious issues will come up; for example, how do you evaluate a startup, which, in its initial beginning, may not have any profits of revenue before but may one day be worth billions. Essentially, you have a large asset that is illiquid and one partner usually knows a lot more about that asset than the other.

The Orlando prenuptial agreement attorneys of the Arwani Law Firm PLLC have significant experience when it comes to drafting prenuptial agreements for all types of businesses, including startups that are very important to their visionary founders. Contact us today to find out more about our services.

Resource:

bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-11/prenup-is-latest-must-have-for-tech-startup-founders-in-love

https://www.arwanilawfirm.com/what-are-the-basic-elements-of-a-prenuptial-agreement/