Pre-nuptial Agreement USA

[dragonboy69 0]

I was curious if anyone looked into a prenuptial agreement for a future wife in the USA. I figure like most people, although you may know your significant other from afar, that time far outweighs the physical time you have spent together. That being said I wondered if anyone else thought of protecting their assets?

[payxibka 10,047]

not a K-1 visa general discussion topic..

moving thread

[Ontarkie 14,540]

some ppl on here have done it, others haven't

if you think of it as a way to protect both parties involved and its mutual then go for it, or even if you have a lot to protect like a house that was bought and kids from before lots as assest ect ect... i think some ppl come to think of it as normal in situations like that

but if your thinking that a prenup is just a way to make sure the other person doesn't run off well its not going to help much (not saying this is why you are asking) theres so many reasons why one would get one and so many reasons why some ppl don't and could be offended by the thought of it, its really something two ppl really need to discuss honestly

just my thoughts

Danielle

Edited September 4, 2009 by Ontarkie

[SuperDuper! 230]

Many men request a pre-nup. No news there.

[grinchus 11]

I am getting a prenup written up and my fiance' is totally on board. Someone on this board said it's mostly men, and that may be true, but I'm not - and I'm having one drawn up. In his country they don't have the community property, no-fault laws like they do in some states here (CA for example) where everything automatically gets split 50-50 in a divorce. Where he's from getting married doesn't change who owns what, i.e. if you own a house and you don't take active steps to put it in both of your names, you still own the house if you should split. So my fiance' thinks that's totally fair and has no expectation that if anything should happen to us that he should get half of everything I came to the marriage with. But it's important to discuss it in advance. You don't want to just spring a prenup on someone!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I am getting a prenup written up and my fiance' is totally on board. Someone on this board said it's mostly men, and that may be true, but I'm not - and I'm having one drawn up. In his country they don't have the community property, no-fault laws like they do in some states here (CA for example) where everything automatically gets split 50-50 in a divorce. Where he's from getting married doesn't change who owns what, i.e. if you own a house and you don't take active steps to put it in both of your names, you still own the house if you should split. So my fiance' thinks that's totally fair and has no expectation that if anything should happen to us that he should get half of everything I came to the marriage with. But it's important to discuss it in advance. You don't want to just spring a prenup on someone!

Getting married doesn't change who owns what in most community property states either, including California. Contrary to what you may have heard, they do not split everything 50/50. Property which was owned separately before the marriage remains separate property during and after the marriage, unless specific steps are taken to co-mingle or share that property - a process called "transmutation". The same applies to debts. Community property and debts, which ARE split 50/50, are those assets and debts that are acquired after the couple are married, and before they are legally separated (in California, legal separation is effective when the divorce petition is filed).

If you owned a home before the marriage, and you didn't add your spouse to the title or deed, then you still own the house after the marriage. However, your spouse may have a valid claim to some cash for the home if you continued to pay a mortgage during the marriage, and/or the home has acquired equity during the marriage. This is because any income acquired during the marriage is considered to be a community asset, and when a community asset is used to pay a separate debt, then the other spouse begins to acquire interest in the separate property, generally equal to half of the amount of debt paid. Likewise, equity accrued during the marriage can also be considered a community asset, and your spouse may have a claim to half of the equity accrued during the marriage. You could end up paying off your spouse in a divorce in order to get full ownership of your home back.

[grinchus 11]

I am getting a prenup written up and my fiance' is totally on board. Someone on this board said it's mostly men, and that may be true, but I'm not - and I'm having one drawn up. In his country they don't have the community property, no-fault laws like they do in some states here (CA for example) where everything automatically gets split 50-50 in a divorce. Where he's from getting married doesn't change who owns what, i.e. if you own a house and you don't take active steps to put it in both of your names, you still own the house if you should split. So my fiance' thinks that's totally fair and has no expectation that if anything should happen to us that he should get half of everything I came to the marriage with. But it's important to discuss it in advance. You don't want to just spring a prenup on someone!

Getting married doesn't change who owns what in most community property states either, including California. Contrary to what you may have heard, they do not split everything 50/50. Property which was owned separately before the marriage remains separate property during and after the marriage, unless specific steps are taken to co-mingle or share that property - a process called "transmutation". The same applies to debts. Community property and debts, which ARE split 50/50, are those assets and debts that are acquired after the couple are married, and before they are legally separated (in California, legal separation is effective when the divorce petition is filed).

If you owned a home before the marriage, and you didn't add your spouse to the title or deed, then you still own the house after the marriage. However, your spouse may have a valid claim to some cash for the home if you continued to pay a mortgage during the marriage, and/or the home has acquired equity during the marriage. This is because any income acquired during the marriage is considered to be a community asset, and when a community asset is used to pay a separate debt, then the other spouse begins to acquire interest in the separate property, generally equal to half of the amount of debt paid. Likewise, equity accrued during the marriage can also be considered a community asset, and your spouse may have a claim to half of the equity accrued during the marriage. You could end up paying off your spouse in a divorce in order to get full ownership of your home back.

Yeah, I'm confused about all that stuff but we're meeting with a lawyer next week so I can ask just these kinds of questions. Thanks for your very informed response! As far as the mortgage goes, I'm going to keep paying that out of a bank account that will stay in just my name so we don't get into the co-mingling of assets with the property, but then we'll have another joint bank account that will be for our general life together.

As far as debts are concerned, any loans that I take out against the house (refinance, home equity, etc.) will just be in my name if I don't add him to the title, is that correct? I want to make sure I don't have to get his signature on any loan applications or have him be responsible for any debt accrued after our marriage if they're just related to a property that's in my name only

So if what you say is true, what does a prenup do? Protect you if you - a la Donald Trump - want to keep all the money you earn even after you're married?

[anitacastillo 0]

Many men request a pre-nup. No news there.

Women use them too!!

[SuperDuper! 230]

Many men request a pre-nup. No news there.

Women use them too!!

Glad to hear it. A tootsie with with a big roll might especially find it useful. Equal opportunity, you know! Peace.

Edited September 4, 2009 by itzallgood

[zqt3344 21]

Yes and get one and they do work quite well. Well worth the time and money to get one put in place.

I was curious if anyone looked into a prenuptial agreement for a future wife in the USA. I figure like most people, although you may know your significant other from afar, that time far outweighs the physical time you have spent together. That being said I wondered if anyone else thought of protecting their assets?

[SurfingPumpkin 1]

Many men request a pre-nup. No news there.

Women use them too!!

Glad to hear it. A tootsie with with a big roll might especially find it useful. Equal opportunity, you know! Peace.

My income as an advanced-degree professional is 5 times that of my hubby's. A "tootsie with a big roll"? Go back to the cave bro.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I am getting a prenup written up and my fiance' is totally on board. Someone on this board said it's mostly men, and that may be true, but I'm not - and I'm having one drawn up. In his country they don't have the community property, no-fault laws like they do in some states here (CA for example) where everything automatically gets split 50-50 in a divorce. Where he's from getting married doesn't change who owns what, i.e. if you own a house and you don't take active steps to put it in both of your names, you still own the house if you should split. So my fiance' thinks that's totally fair and has no expectation that if anything should happen to us that he should get half of everything I came to the marriage with. But it's important to discuss it in advance. You don't want to just spring a prenup on someone!

Getting married doesn't change who owns what in most community property states either, including California. Contrary to what you may have heard, they do not split everything 50/50. Property which was owned separately before the marriage remains separate property during and after the marriage, unless specific steps are taken to co-mingle or share that property - a process called "transmutation". The same applies to debts. Community property and debts, which ARE split 50/50, are those assets and debts that are acquired after the couple are married, and before they are legally separated (in California, legal separation is effective when the divorce petition is filed).

If you owned a home before the marriage, and you didn't add your spouse to the title or deed, then you still own the house after the marriage. However, your spouse may have a valid claim to some cash for the home if you continued to pay a mortgage during the marriage, and/or the home has acquired equity during the marriage. This is because any income acquired during the marriage is considered to be a community asset, and when a community asset is used to pay a separate debt, then the other spouse begins to acquire interest in the separate property, generally equal to half of the amount of debt paid. Likewise, equity accrued during the marriage can also be considered a community asset, and your spouse may have a claim to half of the equity accrued during the marriage. You could end up paying off your spouse in a divorce in order to get full ownership of your home back.

Yeah, I'm confused about all that stuff but we're meeting with a lawyer next week so I can ask just these kinds of questions. Thanks for your very informed response! As far as the mortgage goes, I'm going to keep paying that out of a bank account that will stay in just my name so we don't get into the co-mingling of assets with the property, but then we'll have another joint bank account that will be for our general life together.

As far as debts are concerned, any loans that I take out against the house (refinance, home equity, etc.) will just be in my name if I don't add him to the title, is that correct? I want to make sure I don't have to get his signature on any loan applications or have him be responsible for any debt accrued after our marriage if they're just related to a property that's in my name only

So if what you say is true, what does a prenup do? Protect you if you - a la Donald Trump - want to keep all the money you earn even after you're married?

It doesn't matter if you pay the mortgage out of a separate account. The money you earn after getting married is a community asset, so any money you deposit into that account to pay the mortgage is a community asset. You will be using money that belongs to both of you to pay a debt that belongs to you alone. This means your spouse will be acquiring interest in the property.

If you take out a loan on the house after getting married then the debt becomes a community debt, and the money you get from the loan becomes a community asset. This can make the determination of what portion of the assets and debts are separate and what portion are community very complicated.

It doesn't matter how you handle these things on your tax returns; e.g., filing separate returns, etc. Taxes are a matter of tax law - not family law.

California courts do not step in during a divorce and start dividing up your assets. This is one of the intents of "no fault" divorce laws - to keep the courts out of the process as much as possible. You and your spouse are expected to reach an equitable settlement on the distribution of assets and debts. The court will get involved only if the two parties cannot reach a settlement after multiple attempts, and the courts will generally only decide on specific assets or debts that are in dispute.

A pre-nup in California is essentially a partial divorce settlement agreement which is made before the couple are even married. The couple basically agrees that the distribution of certain assets and debts will go according to the pre-nup contract in the event of divorce. This doesn't usually change the presumption in law that community assets will be divided equitably. It could prevent your spouse from claiming any right to your home, but it won't necessarily stop him from claiming other assets to offset any interest he might have acquired in the home.

In addition, pre-nups are frequently challenged at divorce because the conditions assumed in the pre-nup may have changed substantially. For example, the pre-nup may state that you get to keep the home in the event of divorce. However, what happens if you sell the home during the marriage, and the equity is deposited into a bank account. Does your spouse have a legal right to claim half of the equity accrued during the marriage? What if you use the equity as a down payment on a new home? Does your spouse have a legal right to claim an automatic interest in the new home equal to half the equity accrued during the marriage? A pre-nup can also be found to be void if it appears to the court to be an obvious attempt to have a spouse sign away a significant portion of their legal rights under family law. If the pre-nup requires a spouse to give up something they might otherwise have a legal right to claim, then it should offer something in compromise to make up for that loss.

If you have significant assets or debts going into a marriage, it would be wise to get a pre-nup drawn up from a competent attorney. This has nothing to do with "screwing" your spouse in the event of divorce. It has to do with cutting down substantially on the complexity of the settlement, and reducing stress for both parties in the event of a divorce. It also helps to ensure that assets that are important to you remain yours after the divorce, and that your spouse is compensated in other ways.

[grinchus 11]

Many men request a pre-nup. No news there.

Women use them too!!

Glad to hear it. A tootsie with with a big roll might especially find it useful. Equal opportunity, you know! Peace.

My income as an advanced-degree professional is 5 times that of my hubby's. A "tootsie with a big roll"? Go back to the cave bro.

A-men sister!

[grinchus 11]

It doesn't matter if you pay the mortgage out of a separate account. The money you earn after getting married is a community asset, so any money you deposit into that account to pay the mortgage is a community asset. You will be using money that belongs to both of you to pay a debt that belongs to you alone. This means your spouse will be acquiring interest in the property.

If you take out a loan on the house after getting married then the debt becomes a community debt, and the money you get from the loan becomes a community asset. This can make the determination of what portion of the assets and debts are separate and what portion are community very complicated.

It doesn't matter how you handle these things on your tax returns; e.g., filing separate returns, etc. Taxes are a matter of tax law - not family law.

California courts do not step in during a divorce and start dividing up your assets. This is one of the intents of "no fault" divorce laws - to keep the courts out of the process as much as possible. You and your spouse are expected to reach an equitable settlement on the distribution of assets and debts. The court will get involved only if the two parties cannot reach a settlement after multiple attempts, and the courts will generally only decide on specific assets or debts that are in dispute.

A pre-nup in California is essentially a partial divorce settlement agreement which is made before the couple are even married. The couple basically agrees that the distribution of certain assets and debts will go according to the pre-nup contract in the event of divorce. This doesn't usually change the presumption in law that community assets will be divided equitably. It could prevent your spouse from claiming any right to your home, but it won't necessarily stop him from claiming other assets to offset any interest he might have acquired in the home.

In addition, pre-nups are frequently challenged at divorce because the conditions assumed in the pre-nup may have changed substantially. For example, the pre-nup may state that you get to keep the home in the event of divorce. However, what happens if you sell the home during the marriage, and the equity is deposited into a bank account. Does your spouse have a legal right to claim half of the equity accrued during the marriage? What if you use the equity as a down payment on a new home? Does your spouse have a legal right to claim an automatic interest in the new home equal to half the equity accrued during the marriage? A pre-nup can also be found to be void if it appears to the court to be an obvious attempt to have a spouse sign away a significant portion of their legal rights under family law. If the pre-nup requires a spouse to give up something they might otherwise have a legal right to claim, then it should offer something in compromise to make up for that loss.

If you have significant assets or debts going into a marriage, it would be wise to get a pre-nup drawn up from a competent attorney. This has nothing to do with "screwing" your spouse in the event of divorce. It has to do with cutting down substantially on the complexity of the settlement, and reducing stress for both parties in the event of a divorce. It also helps to ensure that assets that are important to you remain yours after the divorce, and that your spouse is compensated in other ways.

Yes, that is precisely why we're meeting with an attorney next week. I am coming into the marriage with basically all of the assets (and debts such as mortgage, etc.) and he's coming in with none. In addition, my salary is likely to always be higher than his. Like you say, it's not an attempt to "screw" my to-be-spouse, I just want to make sure that everything I worked to build before getting married remains mine should the marriage not work out. I am very heartened that he agrees.

Thanks again.

[justashooter 430]

If you owned a home before the marriage, and you didn't add your spouse to the title or deed, then you still own the house after the marriage. However, your spouse may have a valid claim to some cash for the home if you continued to pay a mortgage during the marriage, and/or the home has acquired equity during the marriage.

you can add a waiver to the pre-nup separating the house perpetually.