A Prenuptial Agreement (also called an "Antenuptial" Agreement) is a document which is signed by a party before they get married. (There are also "Postnuptial Agreements" which are signed by parties AFTER the marriage.) Prenuptial AND Antenuptial Agreements allow for people to make a determination as to what they want to have happen to their property in the event of either their death or divorce. Without such an Agreement, the laws of the State of Michigan (or wherever they would die or be divorced) would govern. Parties sometimes have property that they bring into the marriage that they would like to leave for their children from a prior marriage or to their family members. In addition, this is a highly effective method to allow people to plan what they may want to do with future gifts from family members or inheritances they may receive during the marriage.