Many individuals have heard of a prenuptial agreement, but many couples are unaware of an arrangement known as a postnuptial agreement.

Postnuptial agreements are written and signed after you are married. A postnuptial agreement is a way for couples to look over their financial, family, and economic situation without the awkward pre-marital conversation that many recently engaged couples fear having. A postnuptial agreement provides an avenue in which to establish ownership of financial obligations and goals and how the couple will share the burden in the event of a death or divorce.

A postnuptial agreement can be a way of addressing concerns a couple may have once they are married. It helps the couple establish a concrete framework to divvy up the mortgage, savings, business, and household expenses. For example, if one spouse is burdened with heavy student loan or business debt, while simultaneously juggling a mortgage, a postnuptial agreement can create confidence in the marriage by entrenching a financial agreement.

In a sign of the times, a Manhattan judge allowed a woman to serve divorce summons to her husband via Facebook.  The 26-year old nurse had been having an extremely difficult time getting a hold of her husband. It was only through phone call or Facebook that she was able to reach him. Even a private investigator was unable to find a location in which to deliver the summons. With those facts in mind, the judge ruled that serving her husband through social media was next best option.

The decision, while novel, is not necessarily surprising. As the judge concedes, “The past decade has also seen the advent and ascendency of social media, with websites such as Facebook and Twitter occupying a central place in the lives of so many people. Thus, it would appear that the next frontier in the developing law of the service of process over the internet is the use of social media sites as forums through which a summons can be delivered.”

Purpose of a Summons

As the number of divorced and blended families increases, studying the effects of such arrangements on children has been a growing area of interest. The most recent study by the Journal and Epidemiology and Community Health found that children fare better when they spend timing living with both of their divorced parents. The study looked at 150,000 12 and 15-year-old students across the country. Sixty-nine percent of these children lived in a non-divorced family household, 19 percent lived with both parents separately, and 13 percent only lived with one. The study analyzed a variety of psychosomatic health problems, including sleep patterns, concentration difficulties, headaches, stomach aches, loss of appetite, dizziness, and feeling sad or tense.

The study found that children who lived in nuclear (meaning non-divorced families) had the least problems. However, and arguably most surprisingly, children who lived with both parents in a joint custody arrangement had significantly fewer problems than those who only lived with one. Girls, however, suffered more psychosomatic problems than boys – particularly feelings of sadness – and sleep problems were the most common for both genders.

Results in Opposition to Traditional Beliefs

A recent UK survey solidified what many couples, divorcees, and lawyers already knew: social media is bad for marriage and contributes to divorce.

A survey of 2,000 married couples in England found that one in seven partners contemplated divorce because of their spouse’s activities on Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Snapchat, or WhatsApp. The survey also found a partner’s usage of these social media sites contributed to at least one argument per week in 25 percent of the couples surveyed. Seventeen percent of couples, however, said social media usage led to arguments every day.

Furthermore, more than half (58 percent) of those surveyed claimed they knew their partner’s password even if the spouse was unaware they did. The reasons for knowing the password and subsequently checking their spouse’s account are typical amongst most couples: checking to see with whom the spouse is talking, keeping tabs on where and with whom their spouse is going out, and to see if their spouse is telling the truth about a variety of subjects. Fourteen percent of spouses specifically stated they snoop their spouse’s account for evidence of infidelity. Also, finding evidence of contact with exes and sending secret messages or inappropriate photos were found to be other targeted causes of arguments and reasons to snoop.

While the stereotype one sees in Hollywood is people marrying for citizenship, the fact of the matter is many couples have legitimate immigration concerns as they move forward in marriage and in the event of divorce. Depending on which stage of the immigration process you happen to be in, the act of divorcing your spouse can have varying effects on your residency status.

Visa Application (Green Card)

If you are in the start of your immigration process and your spouse has filed a visa petition on your behalf, a divorce would derail that petition and prevent you from moving forward in the process.