Does Your Marriage Need A Postnup?

Now for couples who have already tied the knot there is another way to make explicit the financial (and other) terms of your union: the postnup.

These contracts are a way to sort out money problems when, for any number of reasons (inheritances, business failures, business successes, winning the lottery, quitting work), there is more or less of it than there used to be. It has become a popular way to deal with the conflicting obligations that arise in blended families.

It's possible to think of such an agreement as part of more conventional financial or estate planning. Or as a blueprint, created in calmer times, for an eventual divorce settlement. It can also be used, though most lawyers don't recommend doing so, to solve the everyday tensions of married life: how often to visit the in-laws or take vacations or do household chores. "People can use this process very flexibly for all kinds of purposes, to revive a marriage or steer it in a different direction," says John Fiske, a Cambridge (Mass.) attorney and family mediator. "You can use postnups to force your marriage to work."

(From Business Week)

Thanks to our legal system, it's a little easier to check-out of marriage.