Pre-marital home question.

[seagoing]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I own a home,free and clear of any mortgage .If I marry,how can I keep the home AND ANY EQUITY gained during the marriage from becoming a marital asset.?We are both retired,I have disability income,she has regular retirement income and social security.We maintain our finances seperatly.Would a pre-nup be needed to keep the home seperate property even after marriage?

[Bali Hai]

Originally Posted by seagoing

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I own a home,free and clear of any mortgage .If I marry,how can I keep the home AND ANY EQUITY gained during the marriage from becoming a marital asset.?We are both retired,I have disability income,she has regular retirement income and social security.We maintain our finances seperatly.Would a pre-nup be needed to keep the home seperate property even after marriage?

Spare yourself any futher complications in what time you have left.

DON'T GET MARRIED!!

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by seagoing

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I own a home,free and clear of any mortgage .If I marry,how can I keep the home AND ANY EQUITY gained during the marriage from becoming a marital asset.?We are both retired,I have disability income,she has regular retirement income and social security.We maintain our finances seperatly.Would a pre-nup be needed to keep the home seperate property even after marriage?

A prenup would be helpful.

Without a pre-nup, the home equity at the time of the marriage would be separate property. Only the increase in equity during the marriage would be a marital asset. Since there is no mortgage, you may be able to keep the house as separate property by paying for maintenance and repairs out of separate money (savings) rather than marital income.

[seagoing]

A prenup would be helpful.Does that mean uncertain.?I have read all kinds of stories regarding prenups.That being,they can be contested and trrown out.Can anyone tell me what kind of language should be inserted to insure against any loss of the property due to marriage/divorce.The property is the only asset that I would need to keep seperate.Thanks again

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by seagoing

A prenup would be helpful.Does that mean uncertain.?I have read all kinds of stories regarding prenups.That being,they can be contested and trrown out.Can anyone tell me what kind of language should be inserted to insure against any loss of the property due to marriage/divorce.The property is the only asset that I would need to keep seperate.Thanks again

The best advice for a prenup is to get a good lawyer to write it. They need to be very carefully written. Also, I believe that there's a requirement that your future spouse needs to have the benefit of an attorney.

There are other options, as well. If you put the home into an irrevocable trust, you can probably protect it.

In any event, you need to see an attorney since none of the options are DIY deals.

[nextwife]

Agreed. Make sure future spouse has their own attorney and plenty of advance time to review and sign, so that it is at less risk of being overturned.

You might also look into whether owning it in a trust pre marriage makes sense.

[mistoffolees]

Originally Posted by nextwife

Agreed. Make sure future spouse has their own attorney and plenty of advance time to review and sign, so that it is at less risk of being overturned.

You might also look into whether owning it in a trust pre marriage makes sense.

I should point out that it's very important to make sure you understand a trust before signing it.

If it's a revocable trust, it probably won't protect the home in the event of a divorce.

A properly written irrevocable trust probably will, BUT there are big downsides. OP will lose control of the asset and will be unable to get any money out of it and would have a great deal of difficulty in selling it.

[seagoing]

,we intend to have legal advice on both sides,thanks again