Digital Assets In A Florida Prenup

Nowadays, it is more and more common for the average person to possess digital assets in their own name. Items like cryptocurrency, stock portfolios or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) must be dealt with in a prenuptial agreement if a person wants to retain sole ownership of these assets, and preserve their separation from any marital income or assets in order to keep it that way. The right attorney can help clarify what needs to be done.

Prenups Provide ‘Full & Fair Disclosure’

The reasons for executing a prenuptial agreement with your soon-to-be spouse before marriage are twofold. The first is to dispose of certain issues like spousal support that would need to be discussed in the event of a divorce. The second is to establish each spouse’s pre-marital assets, and to make clear an intention to retain one or more of those assets as separate property. In Florida, all property acquired during a marriage is considered marital property, unless certain exceptions apply.

When the assets are digital, it is arguably even more important to ensure that they are fully and fairly disclosed by one future spouse to the other, as sometimes the nature of a digital asset may make it difficult to distribute or value. For example, cryptocurrency is often stored in ‘wallets’ that are anonymous and inaccessible to anyone but the account holder. If this asset is not disclosed and treated appropriately in a prenup, it may be impossible to access in a messy divorce.

Clarity Is Crucial

One other reason why it is absolutely imperative to disclose all details about digital assets is the issue of valuation – the price of assets like NFTs can fluctuate wildly. In addition, in Florida, an asset may be marked as separate property, but in some cases, any fluctuation in value may qualify as marital property – for example, a private business practice may be the property of one spouse, but any rise in value of that practice will count as marital property, meaning it is divisible in divorce.

That said, if the spouses stipulated in their prenup that any increase in value of the business was separate property, it will usually be honored unless the provision is grossly against public policy – that is, it shocks the conscience of the public. Courts will usually give broad discretion to prenups unless the document is unenforceable or would put one spouse in such a poor financial position that they might otherwise be dependent on public welfare.

Contact A Hollywood, FL Prenuptial Agreement Attorney

Digital assets are just as important to many people as any other item they may possess. If you are considering executing a prenuptial agreement in Florida, a Hollywood, FL family law attorney from The Law Offices of Steven A. Mason, P.A. can help answer any questions or help assuage any concerns you may have about the process with regard to any of your assets. Contact our office today to speak to an attorney.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.075.html