Legal Question in Family Law in California

Hi,

I'm preparing prenuptial agreement in California and planned to get married soon. We are a gay couple. In the prenuptial agreement that I have, use the word husband and wife. Should I change from wife to partner or what should I do?

Thank you,

Drew


Asked on 10/01/13, 11:04 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

John Laurie Gertz and Laurie

You should have an attorney do this. This is not something I would suggest a non lawyer do. If you have assets to protect then do it right and hire a lawyer

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Answered on 10/01/13, 11:13 pm

I completely agree with Mr. Laurie. Most pre-nups are not worth the paper they are printed on unless done with the advice and assistance of an attorney. There are so many ways that a pre-nup can be invalidated that a non-lawyer is almost sure to come up with an unenforceable document.

With that said, the simple answer to your question is that the use of labels is ambiguous in any agreement. When I do pre-nups I always just use the names in place of husband, wife, spouse, etc.

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Answered on 10/02/13, 9:30 am
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

My first response was why don't you just use the actual names of the parties to the agreement, to avoid confusion? In reading the other responses, I realize that you are trying to copy a form or someone else's prenuptial agreement, which is a bad idea. There are strict legal formalities which must be observed for the prenuptial agreement to be legally valid. You should save yourself heartache and expense later by having an attorney do it right today.

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Answered on 10/02/13, 10:42 am


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