Insights
Practical explanations of the questions clients ask most often about California prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.
When should you start a California prenuptial agreement?
Most problems with prenuptial agreements are timing problems. California law sets a minimum waiting period, but the practical schedule a well-prepared agreement requires is considerably longer.
Read →Does each party need a separate attorney?
One attorney cannot represent both parties to a premarital agreement. The parties' interests are adverse by definition, and for certain terms California law makes independent representation a condition of enforceability.
Read →What financial disclosure is required?
Disclosure is the part of a premarital agreement most often treated as paperwork and most often litigated later. What each party knew, and when, is frequently the central question.
Read →Can a prenup protect a business?
Owning a business before marriage does not by itself keep the business separate. What happens to its growth, its earnings, and the owner's work during the marriage is where the outcome is decided.
Read →How are overseas assets treated?
Couples with property, family, or business interests in more than one country face questions a standard form does not reach. A California agreement can address those assets, within limits that should be understood at the outset.
Read →Prenuptial vs. postnuptial agreements
The two agreements address similar subjects but arise under different rules. The difference is not merely timing; it is the legal relationship between the parties at the moment they sign.
Read →Giving your fiancé or spouse an interest in your home in California: what should you consider?
It is common for one partner to own a home before marriage and later want to share some or all of that property with a fiancé or spouse. The intention may be simple. The legal effect may not be.
Read →Transmutation vs. postnuptial agreement: which is right for you?
Understanding your options for protecting and restructuring marital property under California law. Married couples in California may wish to clarify or change their property rights for various reasons, whether to protect a particular asset, address contributions to a family home, or establish a broader financial arrangement during marriage.
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