Katherine E. Stoner - Prenuptial agreements: how to write a fair and lasting contract

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Katherine E. Stoner, J.D.
& Shae Irving, J.D.

ISSN: 2472-596X (print)

ISSN: 2472-5978 (online)

ISBN: 978-1-4133-2302-3 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4133-2303-0 (epub ebook)

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We believe accurate, plain-English legal information should help you solve many of your own legal problems. But this text is not a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you want the help of a trained professionaland well always point out situations in which we think thats a good ideaconsult an attorney licensed to practice in your state.

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, and to Stephen Stine for his excellent work on the version youre reading now.

We are indebted to Lisa Guerin and Emily Doskow for their editorial assistance, and to Jaleh Doane for helping with technical transitions large and small. Our gratitude also goes to Terri Hearsh, a talented and patient book designer.

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 Berkeleymany 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 would like to thank her husband, Stewart. When Shae and Stewart married in 2014, she was grateful they could use the guidelines in this book to craft a sound prenup of their own.

Finally, wed like to thank each other. Rarely does a collaboration proceed with as much grace and good humor as this one did.

Katherine E. Stoner is a superior court commissioner in Monterey County, California. Prior to that, she was a certified family law specialist with a practice focused primarily on family law and mediation. She is an adjunct faculty member at Monterey College of Law, where she has taught community property, family law, and mediation since 1980.

Shae Irving is the author of Living Wills & Powers of Attorney for California (Nolo) and was for many years the managing editor of Quicken WillMaker Plus (software from Nolo). Irving joined the editorial staff at Nolo in 1994 after receiving her law degree Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall). She currently works as a freelance writer and editor for Nolo and other clients who care about communication that is helpful, friendly, and true.

If youre planning to be married and considering a prenuptial agreementa prenup for shortthis book is for you. It will help you and your fianc sort through the questions that most couples have about making this type of contract. Maybe you arent sure whether you really need a prenup. Or perhaps the two of you have decided you want a prenup but you dont know how to start putting it together. Thats why were here.

We tell you what prenups are, what you can do with one, and how to figure out whether or not you want to make one. If you decide that a prenup is right for you, we show you what terms to include in it and how to put those terms into an agreement thats legally sound and fair to both of you.

In the first few chapters of this book, youll see that there are definite benefits to making your own rules about the financial aspects of marriage, rather than leaving everything up to the laws of your state. You can successfully use a prenup to do the following and more:

specify ground rules for buying and owning property while you are married

coordinate and support your estate plans, to be sure that family property passes as you wish, and

avoid potentially divisive issues that could arise if you ever separate.

Whats more, while a prenuptial agreement may not seem romantic, working together to consider and choose the terms of a prenup can actually strengthen your relationship. After all, marriage is a partnership in every sense of the word. Learning to deal respectfully and constructively with each other about finances is a benefit in itself. So even if you conclude that you dont need a prenup, using this book can help you converse with each other about the important financial matters that are sure to arise in the course of your years together.

Turn the page to start learning the basics of prenups. And, most important, please accept our congratulations on your upcoming marriage. May it be long, joyful, and prosperous.