New Marriage and Money

[jim01234]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina

I live in North Carolina and I am soon to be married to a great lady. The only issue is I have is that I have a sizeable amount of cash and she has debt. Admittedly, the debt she has is from student loans and she has been working very hard to get them paid off. And a majority of the reason I have so much cash is inheritance, and generous parents along with some good luck in the stock market. So this is by no means her fault or her being careless with money. My concern comes if for some reason our marriage does not work out (I don't see this happening, but the statistics are alarming) I know my premarital nest egg would basically be split. Is there some simple way, without a full prenup and all of the bad rep they get, I can protect my nest egg? What I would like is something basically stating if we were to get divorced I would like my premarital wealth to be considered if we could not settle outside of court. Again I don't ever for see us getting divorced or having problems (otherwise I would have never proposed) but I think I should do something to protect myself if things turn for the worst.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina

I live in North Carolina and I am soon to be married to a great lady. The only issue is I have is that I have a sizeable amount of cash and she has debt. Admittedly, the debt she has is from student loans and she has been working very hard to get them paid off. And a majority of the reason I have so much cash is inheritance, and generous parents along with some good luck in the stock market. So this is by no means her fault or her being careless with money. My concern comes if for some reason our marriage does not work out (I don't see this happening, but the statistics are alarming) I know my premarital nest egg would basically be split. Is there some simple way, without a full prenup and all of the bad rep they get, I can protect my nest egg? What I would like is something basically stating if we were to get divorced I would like my premarital wealth to be considered if we could not settle outside of court. Again I don't ever for see us getting divorced or having problems (otherwise I would have never proposed) but I think I should do something to protect myself if things turn for the worst.

It's called a prenuptial agreement, and you can have your attorney draw one up that ensures that your premarital assets are protected from being divided as marital assets.

 

[ecmst12]

Your premarital assets would not become marital just because you get married. Keep them separate from anything you own jointly with her so there is no question of comingling. No prenup needed. It of course would not hurt to speak with a lawyer but that just isn't how marriage works - marital assets are things that you acquire DURING the marriage.

Her premarital debt will also not become your responsibility just because you get married, especially since it's for student loans which would be separate even if they were incurred during the marriage.

 

[Proserpina]

And remember, if you DO choose to go with a prenup, you both need separate attorneys.