Prenuptial Agreements: How to Write a Fair and Lasting Contract

353 Pages·2004·1.39 MB·English

by  Katherine E. Stoner

1st edition
Prenuptial
Agreements:
How to Write a Fair and
Lasting Contract
by Attorney Katherine E. Stoner
& Shae Irving, J.D.
About Nolo
Have a legal question? Chances are Nolo can help you answer it, both in print
aFpnordor obthnlerlmienees .dweitcha dceosn, fNidoelnoc'se ,m a ismsiioninm huams boef efuns tso a hnedl pe xppeeonpslee, saonldv—e twhehiern leevgearl
pOIfonoIaansva rnTtdsie dunmhtdMihvardbophfe aloesel-dlowet en tnrh7doe aso—tnm8 e0n tvfat-f 0 ehsdgdoalNrywes,lee te areo,wgsi o itcmoawttIpaoeenlehernloe- fh nts po l pwdb'eet,wets -uah wregl bonpychtcnaegy, r e rkoilepa awl- ko’ese nintsve,nlpgd e teav reesfreep w e osixPdoaoeptuonrymtpripd fbsmniioeiflene nkeolsaraidnganss rs.ldns uttt eheiceuiad,rnc doidodtnunc t no cy mhsdcgeoi oop tn vadupapCiinue vocrestruvrarDah nalt eiWoyilloecsve san ne te twr bnii9ioltPlsercilleon0Mn e ronatsc s oe lcolcpmta,e. d eooaopekDsRauv mesclkoeaanaocari nciffify trtwnil yaosyhca ya- no.on bgel cE fldtfTnnll ho n ooetw oieahrLhgz ai mtutoieliordvwinoa,rs ris scfngN h ilCae htbdk g asht oeb ol eThbnte blloneroaaidop yutds totk s cset yisass kitno, rtotayt .es,fa'Mo mn-suo wartc rd rospatbmogh emikue-beeendde,ts sytarte rwat tttame, ty r eitiwhew o nosayal ene.ihkoag nnW ggy ioijudngdcoea t t hgeitlbc aaro t ta e llutao lemdanod cslsg tos teoowohkaoflnfiy kdlseunoye .eldtor.,omkur.
yDtoaenuocdreh scni moothmlpoirspgo umyvt eeee vraa.onlll vwoeuesr pa cnlaudnr rttehone at I bnpatrneodrdnouenct t ose,ux mrp abankodionskg, swy ioenu wpr rialilnc ctc?oe Asnstb itsnoou letu htteeo l ylra ewndo etths. ieAg nsbest
it can be.
“America’s leading source of self-help legal
(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)
information.”
—Y !
AHOO
LLEEGGAALL IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN
OONNLLIINNEE AANNYYTTIIMMEE
22 44
hhh uu rr ss aa dd aa yy
www.nolo.com
AT THE NOLO.COM SELF-HELP LAW CENTER, YOU’LL FIND
• Nolo’s comprehensive Legal Encyclopedia filled with plain-English
information on a variety of legal topics
• Nolo’s Law Dictionary—legal terms without the legalese
• Auntie Nolo—if you’ve got questions, Auntie’s got answers
• The Law Store—over 200 self-help legal products including
Downloadable Software, Books, Form Kits and eGuides
• Legal and product updates
• Frequently Asked Questions
Our
• NoloBriefs, our free monthly email newsletter
“No-Hassle”
• Legal Research Center, for access to state and federal statutes
Guarantee
• Our ever-popular lawyer jokes
Return anything you buy
Q
ualityLaw Books & Software directly from Nolo for any
reason and we’ll cheerfully re-
for Everyone
fund your purchase price.
No ifs, ands or buts.
Nolo’s user-friendly products are consistently first-rate. Here’s why:
•
A dozen in-house legal editors, working with highly skilled authors,
ensure that our products are accurate, up-to-date and easy to use
•
We continually update every book and software program
to keep up with changes in the law
•
Our commitment to a more democratic legal system informs all of our work
•
We appreciate & listen to your feedback. Please fill out and
return the card at the back of this book.
Read This First
T
he information in this book is as up to date and accurate as we can make it. But it’s
important to realize that the law changes frequently, as do fees, forms, and other
important legal details. If you handle your own legal matters, it’s up to you to be sure that
all information you use—including the information in this book—is accurate. Here are
some suggestions to help you do this:
First, check the edition number on the book’s spine to make sure you’ve got the most
recent edition of this book. To learn whether a later edition is available, go to Nolo’s online
Law Store at www.nolo.com or call Nolo’s Customer Service Department at 800-728-3555.
Next, because the law can change overnight, users of even a current edition need to be
sure it’s fully up to date. At www.nolo.com, we post notices of major legal and practical
changes that affect a book’s current edition only. To check for updates, go to the Law Store
portion of Nolo’s website and find the page devoted to the book (use the “A to Z Product
List” and click on the book’s title). If you see an “Updates” link on the left side of the page,
click on it. If you don’t see a link, there are no posted changes—but check back regularly.
Finally, while Nolo believes that accurate and current legal information in its books
can help you solve many of your legal problems on a cost-effective basis, this book is not
intended to be a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you
want the help of a trained professional, consult an attorney licensed to practice in your state.
1st edition
Prenuptial
Agreements:
How to Write a Fair and
Lasting Contract
by Attorney Katherine E. Stoner
& Shae Irving, J.D.
First Edition APRIL 2004
Editor LISA GUERIN
Illustrations MARI STEIN
Cover Design TONI IHARA
Book Design TERRI HEARSH
Proofreading ROBERT WELLS
CD-ROM Preparation ANDRÉ ZIVKOVICH
Index THÉRÈSE SHERE
Printing DELTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS, INC.
Stoner, Katherine E., 1947-
Prenuptial agreements : how to write a fair and lasting contract / by Katherine E. Stoner
and Shae Irving.--1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-87337-996-9 (alk. paper)
1. Antenuptial contracts--United States--Popular works. I. Irving, Shae. II. Title.
KF529.Z9S76 2004
346.7301'662--dc22
2003064967
Copyright © 2004 by Nolo.
All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without the prior written permission of the publisher and the authors. Reproduction prohibitions
do not apply to the forms contained in this product when reproduced for personal use.
Quantity sales: For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please
contact the Special Sales department. For academic sales or textbook adoptions, ask for
Academic Sales, 800-955-4775. Nolo, 950 Parker St., Berkeley, CA 94710.
Acknowledgments
This book would never have been written without the foresight, enthusiasm,
and patient support of our friends at Nolo, especially Janet Portman and Jake
Warner. Nor could we have done justice to the sheer breadth of the legal
landscape without the diligent research efforts of Ella Hirst. Thanks also to Tom
Hannah for his work on the preliminary research.
We are indebted to Lisa Guerin for her editorial assistance, and to André
Zivkovich for his sharp-eyed suggestions and his help with the CD-ROM. Our
gratitude also goes to Terri Hearsh, a talented and patient book designer, and
to Robert Wells for his careful proofreading.
Special thanks to Anne Lober, Peggy Williams, and everyone at Divorce
Helpline for providing a wonderful meeting place halfway between our homes
in Pacific Grove and Berkeley—many good ideas were hatched in those rooms.
A personal note of thanks from Kathy goes to her law partners and staff for
their interest and support, and to Mickey for hanging in there. Shae wants to
thank everyone at Nolo for making it a joy to go to work each day.
Finally, we’d like to thank each other. Rarely does a collaboration proceed with
as much grace and good humor as this one did.
About the Authors
Katherine E. Stoner is a certified family law specialist with the firm of Stoner,
Welsh & Schmidt in Pacific Grove, California. Her practice focuses primarily on
family law and mediation. She is the author of Using Divorce Mediation (Nolo,
1999). She is on the training staff of the Center for Mediation in Law in Mill
Valley, California, and an adjunct faculty member at Monterey College of Law,
where she has taught community property since 1980.
Shae Irving is the author of Medical Directives & Powers of Attorney for California
(Nolo, 2003) and a co-author of Quicken WillMaker Plus (software from Nolo).
Irving joined the editorial staff at Nolo in 1994 after receiving her law degree at
Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, and has
edited numerous Nolo books including the best-selling Plan Your Estate and
Nolo’s Simple Will Book.
Table of Contents
I How to Use This Book
A. How This Book Can Help You .....................................................................I/2
B. Using This Book to Draft Your OwnPrenup.................................................I/2
C. Our Assumptions..........................................................................................I/2
D. Icons Used in This Book...............................................................................I/5
1 A Prenup Primer
A. How Prenups Work.....................................................................................1/2
B. How to Make a Prenup................................................................................1/4
2 Is a Prenup Right for You?
A. What You Can Do With a Prenup ...............................................................2/2
B. What You Can’t Do With a Prenup .............................................................2/6
C. Will a Prenup Work for You?.......................................................................2/8
3 Deciding on the Specifics
A. Evaluating Your Situation ............................................................................3/2
B. Talking It Through.......................................................................................3/7
C. Will Your Prenup Pass the FairnessTest?...................................................3/12
4 Understanding Your State’s Law
A. Which Laws Apply to Your Prenup?............................................................4/2
B. Preparing to Review the Law.......................................................................4/3
C. An Overview of State Law...........................................................................4/3
D. Researching State Law...............................................................................4/17
E. Do You Still Want a Prenup?.....................................................................4/20