WHERE DO THE KIDS FIT IN ALL THIS? PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS AND CHILD CUSTODY/SUPPORT.
With Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s recent divorce all over the news, latest headlines reveal their settlement ended with $200,000 a month in child support from Kanye alone. With a prenup in place to dictate the division of assets, you may be wondering how Kanye owes Kim such a hefty figure and whether this ever played into their prenuptial agreement in the first place.
The answer is a rather simple one: minus a few states’ exceptions, spouses cannot contract for child support and custody in their prenuptial agreements. Why, you ask? That is because prenups are only allowed to contract for the rights of the engaged parties. And children cannot have such rights contracted away.
In fact, making provisions for child support and custody of unborn children in your prenuptial agreement may give the court a reason to invalidate the prenup entirely. As for Kanye West’s $200k/month ($2.4M a year) obligation for child support, he is only paying his share subject to his and Kardashian’s divorce settlement to split the costs of their child’s security, schooling, and other expenses.
The most common standard judges will follow to determine child custody issues is the “best interests of the child” standard. This standard is intended to protect the mental, physical and emotional well-being of a child. While there is no cut-and-dry definition of what is the child’s “best interest,” it involves the court’s process of deciding who is best fit to raise the child and who is best suited to meet the child’s needs.
As for child support, you may be able to include stipulations in a prenuptial for how payments may be arranged, but the court will usually adhere closely to state formulations and guidelines.
Most of the criteria across states for making such calculations include the following:
financial needs such as education, daycare, insurance, or any special needs, the parents’ income and ability to pay, and the child’s standard of living before the couple’s separation or divorce.
What is more, prenuptial agreements in the state of New York cannot definitively address child support or child custody issues for unborn children, but postnuptial agreements after the birth of a child may have some bearing for consideration by the Judge when determining child support, education, and care.
With child support varying greatly from state to state, it is important to consult the right attorney who can guide you through the do’s and don’ts of involving children in pre and post-nuptial arrangements. JUSTLAW is specially created to make this process easier.
