Texas Divorce and Prenuptial Agreement

Cohabitation agreements are an important legal tool that same sex couples can use to protect their legal rights and finances in states where same sex marriage is not recognized. Some of the areas that same sex couples have addressed via cohabitation agreements include the following: How to divide assets, income, expenses and debt How money each partner brings into the relationship should be construed (for example, one partner may run a business whose income the couple agrees should belong only to the partner involved in the business) How to handle child custody and support (but, courts always reserve the right to modify these determinations in the best interests of the child, and you cannot modify child support adversely; you may only make it more generous) Agree upon when the relationship is over, which is not as straightforward for same sex couples because they are currently unable to divorce in Texas Other legal tools for same sex couples Cohabitation agreements may cover many of the same legal grounds that govern heterosexual marriages, but they are not all encompassing. Same sex couples should consider working with experts in other areas of the law that are important to the relationship. Below are several…
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Should Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt use a prenup for their forthcoming marriage? There is no doubt that, given the amount of money and assets involved, the two have a lot at stake. Both are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Pitt regularly commands $10-30 million per movie. He has also produced a number of hit movies through his production company, Plan B. Jolie also earns several million per movie and has turned towards directing of late, producing the 2011 Bosnian War movie In the Land of Blood and Honey. The couple also took in a reported $15 million from People Magazine for photos of their twins Knox and Vivienne. Jolie and Pitt prenup is likely In short, each is worth a lot of money. Unlike some celebrity marriages, theirs is not one where it is clear that one spouse is worth substantially more than the other and that a prenuptial agreement is something that the wealthier spouse may want to consider. But given the sheer wealth involved (nearly a quarter of a billion dollars) and the complex nature of their family – three adopted children and three natural children – Jolie and Pitt will almost assuredly use a prenup….
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On Monday, we discussed new trends and statistics regarding couples who live together before marriage, a concept known as cohabitation. While these couples may not have the legal formalities of a married couple, many of them have just as much on the line. Cohabitating couples may have spent years together, shared bank accounts and raised children. Cohabitation agreements are like prenuptial agreements, but  they are for couples living together and not formally married. They are legal contracts that cohabitating couples can use to spell out how they would like to treat their property or provide for each partner in the event that the couple breaks up. Who can benefit from cohabitation agreements? Any unmarried couple living together is eligible to draft a cohabitation agreement. Two particular kinds of cohabitating couples should strongly considering entering into a cohabitation agreement in Texas. The two kinds are common law married couples and same sex couples. These couples in particular benefit from cohabitation agreements, because the law does not always clearly recognize their rights. Common law marriages are lawful in several states and generally require a man and a woman to hold themselves out in the community as being husband and wife. They typically…
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Whether they are deliberately hidden or innocently neglected, assets that fail to appear on a spouse’s financial disclosures at divorce time hurt the other side. By failing to include these assets, the total amount of the couple’s marital property will be less than it should. In this post, we discuss several of the ways that spouses have hidden assets that could have improved the financial well-being of their ex-spouses following the divorce. Illiquid assets like jewelry and artwork Unlike a highly liquid asset like stock, illiquid assets cannot be easily and quickly sold for cash. Publicly traded stocks are easy to sell for cash; the stock market values them by the second, and it is possible to arrange a sale usually by a simple click of a computer mouse. Illiquid assets like artwork, on the other hand, are not so easy to sell. These assets require expert appraisals and then usually a private sale or auction. Due to the nature of these illiquid assets, spouses can take advantage of their uncertain value when it comes to divorce time. Spouses may use outdated or grossly incorrect values for these assets, thereby shortchanging their soon-to-be ex-spouses out of the difference between the…
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