A divorce can be the single most expensive expense in your life. Unless you have been in a family courtroom and observed, you will never appreciate the damage a divorce can wreak. One of our clients had stated that cancer was easier for him to deal with. Our lead attorney in this area, Steven Riznyk, was involved in a case dealing with child custody and visitation; that aspect alone cost $140,000 as previous attorneys the client had did not set the case up correctly. She lost her house over the case; a single professional mother.

A prenup does not mean that you do not trust your spouse. It means that when things go sideways in a relationship, your emotions take over; they rarely consult the intellectual brain! It also means you will have two rivals: your spouse and his or her lawyer. The lawyer is not paid unless you two disagree…figure out the rest.

What a lot of people do not realize is that having a prenup does not coincide with having to be mean or cruel: it’s damage control. Many of the clauses do not kick in unless you separate or divorce. The spouse with more financial assets can always make arrangements to pay a certain sum on separation. There can be a clause that states if a spouse cheats, then that spouse receives nothing. There can be clauses that control how long you have to be married to receive certain sums ie 1 year nothing, 3 years, X amount, 5 years XX and so on.

Even with a prenup, you can live your lives like a regular married couple: You can protect your separate property yet have a joint bank account or even a joint home.

A few examples of what you can control in a prenup are:

• The right to alimony, how much, or not at all
• Who gets the dog
• Who gets the retirement account
• Whether you have to leave something to your spouse when you pass
• How you deal with challenges of the marriage ie mediation
• Spousal inheritance
• Transmutation of personal property
• You define what is and isn’t community property
• What happens when you live in the home of one of the spouses and that home is separate property…do you gain an interest when it sells (ie you helped fix it) or not..

Studies suggest that couples with prenuptial agreements in California have stronger relationships because there is no uncertainty as to what will happen in the case of divorce or death. Additionally, prenuptial agreements force couples to face and discuss complicated topics they may have avoided discussing without such a contract.

With a prenup you can protect your heirs, your children. They are very handy when a couple that already has children from a previous marriage decide to get married again. With a prenup, the heirs do not have to lose their inheritance.

The most important benefit of a prenup, especially where one partner is wealthy or will inherit a lot is that they know the person is marrying them for love and not money; it strengthens the bond between them.

If one party writes a prenup, the other receives 7 days to have a prenup lawyer review it. Most of the time, we offer a 48-hour turnaround on reviews. (FLAT FEE).

What we do is review the current prenup, highlight the areas of concern, return it for. you to review those sections and then explain the entire prenup, with attention paid to those sections that we highlighted.

As our job is to represent only the party that hired us, we will also make recommendations if we feel the prenup is very one-sided or unfair. The other side’s lawyer may or may not modify the prenup and that all depends on what you are willing to live with.

In the end of the process, we will provide you with a certificate stating that it has been reviewed by counsel.

In cases where the 7-day window is expiring and the marriage is imminent, we can provide you same-day turnaround (depending on availability and with added cost). Please bear in mind that if one of the lawyers changes the prenup, they 7-day window starts again, as that would then be the final version.

If you are considering marrying your same-sex partner, you should consult an attorney that specializes in same-sex prenuptial agreements. The attorneys at San Diego Biz Law have experience drafting same-sex prenuptial agreements and are ready to ensure that your rights are protected.

The curious advantage that same-sex couples have is that they usually have more assets than people who are not same-sex. They usually (not always) have not had the expensive burden of paying for college for their children, for example. As a result, they may have a diversified portfolio of assets that they may want to protect.

The good news is that same-sex prenups are identical to other prenups, and they can choose to protect whatever they like, and however they want to.

We have worked on many issues that same-sex prenups demand and can also provide creative input so that you can enjoy your relationship without having to worry about financial consequences.

As with any other contract, a prenuptial agreement must be legally sound. Common prenuptial agreements’ defects are:

• Written form. Your agreement must be in writing to be enforceable
• Pressure on one party. If one spouse was pressured (although not coerced) to enter into the agreement by someone it may not be legal; it does not matter whether the person pressuring the spouse is not the partner or someone acting in the partner’s interest and/or with their knowledge.
• Improper execution. The agreement must be signed by both parties prior to the marriage for it to be valid
• Invalid provisions. A prenuptial agreement can cover almost every aspect of the relationship, but it cannot determine issues such as child support and it cannot violate the law
• Incorrect information. Income, liabilities, and assets of both spouses must be fully disclosed in order for the agreement to be valid
• Lack of independent counsel. Both spouses are individuals with separate interests, each spouse must have their own attorney for the agreement to be enforceable.
• Seven days to review were not granted.