Did anyone have the bride to be or husband sign on the magic line? (Pre-nup) What does it proctect and what does it not? Should It be done or not?
I am of the opinion that in a divorce, the funds that should be divided are funds that are accumulated during the term of the marriage. Funds held by the parties prior to the union should remain untouchable. I think anyone who has any money coming into a marriage needs a pre-nup. Especially in this day and age when any marital problems are solved through divorce. In the words of Chris Rock: People think you gotta be rich to have a pre-nup. Oh no. You got $20 million, your wife want $10 million, big deal, you ain't starving. But if you make $30,000 and your wife want $15k, you might have to kill her! Sh*t, I ain't gonna move back in with my momma cause you ain't in love.
Your post reminded me of Eddie Murphy's musings on the same topic, ie Johnny Carson's divorces-" Hey,when you make $50 million a year, you can't complain...ends be meetin' like a motherf*cker"! ROTFLMAO!
If you are wealthier than your wife-to-be, and your future earnings potential is greater than your fiance's, SIGN A PRE-NUP! If you don't and if things go sour and end up in divorce, you will thank yourself that you have a PRE-NUP. Each state in the USA has different laws regarding divorce and how you split up assets. So make sure you consult a lawyer before you get married. For example, in California, if your marriage ends up in divorce, no matter how much you or your wife had before the marriage, everything gets split 50/50 (premarital and marital assets). However, in New York, if you get a divorce, only marital assets get split 50/50. Of course in both cases, it also matters how long the marriage lasted to determine what rate (50/50,80/20,etc...) of the assets the husband and wife gets.
That is actually not true in California (or am I that confused?). If you had a house before you got married, your wife does not get half of it if the marriage ends in divorce. Same goes for your 401K, ESPP... In general, California does have a no fault divorce law, but the split is not a blind 50/50. I am not a lawyer, but I have been told these were the details when a couple of friends hit the skids, and they did not have pre-nups. In reality, why get divorced? The next one is just going to have different faults....I like Chris Rock's attitude.
I would add that any thing inherrited should be kept in your name only and in some states (Virgina) this ensures that your spouse is not entitled to it regardless of when you received it. I don't have a pre-nup but the small amount of money I inherrited is in my name only. Everything else is in both names. Some may think this worng but my thinking is that my family worked hard to accumulate their wealth (no matter how small it may be) and I don't think they would be pleased to learn that my ex-wife was out enjoying it all after leaving me in the dust. What I earn and what she earns belongs to us together. Regards, Jon P. Kofod 1995 F355 Challenge #23 (for sale) www.flatoutracing.net
I might add that having my best friend and roommate go through a divorce several months ago with a pre-nup involved, circumstances can override the pre-nup, especially when its mediation and number crunching time. Even though in the pre-nup the house may belong to one spouse, the partner is still entitled to half the equity. Sunny Edit: I vote yes for the pre-nup but only to protect the little things, like my cars, jewelry, and electronics, which is all I have. A vast majority of what I will accumulating will be with her which is split down the middle!
I'm with William, why get married at all? The stats are against you, why wait for the crash and burn?
Because if you have kids and you are not married and someting is happening to your kids you may not so easily get custody to them. If nohting happens and you just break up you still don't have custody or rights and if you don't have kids but have been living with your living-partner for 20 years and accumullated (cant spell for s*it) assetts you have NO rights to the estate whatsoever. I have seen all 3 scenarios. Not funny! Assetts should be divided 50/50 that have been accumullated during the term of the marriage. Before and after is untouchable. But she/he is entitled to 50% during her/his time with you.
Thanks a lot Augustine. While no pre-nup (or contract) is iron clad, they do help a lot. If you get married young and poor ike me, then they are useless. On the other hand, if you get married later in life and have some money, then you need a pre-nup. Sad but true. Ken
So, wait a min. Because I live in Ca. No matter what everything is 50/50? Can I hide it in accounts in Europe or something?
Sure, by all means hide all your money from your wife and kids. That way you won't have to be as careful about hiding all your girlfriends. Or, you could just not get married to someone you plan to divorce or suspect will divorce you and demand more than a fair share of "your" money. I mean, come on, why are you guys marrying people to which you don't want to provide for for the rest of their lives? I'm not saying one has to get married, but that if they do, assets becomming communal is just part of the territory. -Slim
I'm not trying to say I want to hide all my assets from my family(When I have one). Just saying the world is not like it was once, divorce is very common. I pray that when I get married I will never have to go threw it. I am just merely saying you I can not control what happens. What if your wife cheats on you or somthing? There goes 50% of what you have been working on your whole life to achieve. And if that did happen, I would not leave my family with nothing I would be sure to support them everything they need. I just wanted to know what is the best way to protect your funds prior to getting married?
"I just wanted to know what is the best way to protect your funds prior to getting married?[/QUOTE] By not getting married