The most common types of marital agreements are:

• Prenuptial agreements: A prenuptial agreement is a document that is utilized by one of the individual's entering into a marriage to protect their property and assets in the event that the marriage ends in divorce. A prenuptial agreement lists all of your individual assets and property which will not be considered marital property once you are married. Since they are not considered marital property, they cannot be divided by the equitable distribution laws that govern the distribution of property upon divorce.

• Marital settlement agreements: A post-marital agreement is a legal contract that is created and signed after a marriage. It is also called a marital settlement agreement or property settlement agreement. Generally, marital agreements provide circumstances for payment of support, division of property and debts, child custody, child support, parenting plans, visitation, and/or timesharing.

• Marital separation agreements: Marital separation agreements are written contracts between a husband and wife entering into the divorce process. Marital separation agreements can be drawn up when a couple first decides to split up or during official divorce proceedings. Marital separation agreements are often called property settlement agreements. This is because marital separation agreements are contracts which specify how property is to be divided, how alimony and/or custody will be paid (when applicable) and to spell out other legal rights during the dissolution of marriage.

• Marital property agreements: Associated with the equitable distribution of property and assets, a marital property agreement documents a mutual agreement terms distribution of specific property and assets. The marital property agreement usually acknowledges a fair, but not necessarily equal, division of marital property. In Ohio, marital property is defined as assets, income or property acquired during the marriage.