I’m married – and I’m a divorce attorney. It’s a bit of an oxymoron, isn’t it? Or is it? I don’t even know anymore. I’m also a pretty connected, online person, so I hear all the chatter (I try to make sure I hear all the chatter) about staying single, getting or staying married, and...
Does it ever benefit women to get married?
Online, you’ll find any number of so-called (self-proclaimed) experts in family law. From divorce coaches to mediators to regular parents who’ve just been through a (usually high conflict) divorce or custody case themselves. This is often great. Divorce coaches can do things – and give advice – that I can’t in the sense that it...
If you, like everyone else, are reading Belle Burden’s memoir on marriage, Strangers, you probably noticed that prenups feature dramatically in the storyline. I have made no secret of the fact that, over the years, I do not have a strong positive opinion of prenups. In fact, my experience with prenuptial agreements throughout the years...
The general wisdom seems to be that, if you bring property into a marriage, you should protect it with a prenuptial agreement – or, even, by not getting married at all. I can’t tell you how many times someone has told me this. That’s why it’s always a very good idea to talk to an...
Prenuptial agreements aren’t a whole lot of fun. In almost every case I’ve ever seen, one party has the other party completely over a barrel, and it diminishes any amount of bargaining power that she might have otherwise had. But, then again, that’s the point, isn’t it? There’d be no real need for a prenuptial...
Women frequently bring us in already drafted agreements for our review and comment. Usually, a drafted agreement – whether it’s a prenuptial agreement, a marital agreement, or a separation agreement – includes some sort of language that says there’s been a full and frank disclosure of the assets and liabilities, and also that each party...
Prenuptial agreements are pretty commonly misunderstood. I often hear that someone should may consider a prenup if they had substantial assets before the marriage that they wanted to protect. Under Virginia law, though, property that you earned or owned prior to marriage is already separate – it’s already yours, it stays yours, and it doesn’t...
Prenuptial agreements kind of stink. In fact, I really don’t like them. In my experience, they aren’t good news for the women that I represent and are really used against them at a time when they are the most vulnerable. When you’re happy (you’re about to be a bride!), it’s hard to think about the...