"... describes and analyzes three types of agreements: premarital agreements, postmarital agreements, and domestic partnership agreements. A premarital agreement is a contract between prospective spouses, including same-sex couples, made in contemplation of marriage. A postmarital agreement is a contract executed by parties to an ongoing marriage and not incident to a divorce or marital separation. A domestic partnership agreement, sometimes known as a cohabitation agreement, is a contract executed by a couple whose domestic arrangements may not be state-sanctioned. However, the term also includes such an agreement executed incident to a civil union or registered domestic partnership. Generally, all of these agreements are used to define the property and support rights of the parties upon termination of the marriage or other relationship by death or dissolution. Some parties also opt to include financial obligations during the marriage or other relationship. This Portfolio does not cover separation agreements that settle property rights, spousal and child support obligations, and child custody matters incident to a separation or divorce"--Portfolio description.

Prenuptial agreements have exploded over the past 20 years, not only among celebrities, but also for all types of people who desire to protect, manage, or enhance their personal, family, or business assets against foreseen and unforeseen circumstances. Attorneys have been assigned the task of cutting through a morass of issues to create agreements that achieve the goals of their clients while meeting complex, and often subtle, legal requirements. Drafting Prenuptial Agreements is the first guidebook ever to cover this growing area of family law. Written by Gary N. Skoloff and Richard H. Singer, Jr., Skoloff and& Wolfe, Livingston NJ, and Ronald L. Brown, Editor, American Journal of Family Law, Aspen Publishers, Drafting Prenuptial Agreements presents a pragmatic approach to preparing successful agreements quickly and effectively in any situation by grouping together and identifying the common areas that need to be addressed. The authors guide you through planning the agreement and the types of issues to discuss with different clients. This thoughtful organization gives you easy access to the tools you need to clearly present the range of choices to be addressed in each type of agreement and situation. Five sample agreements create broad groupings of issues which let you quickly zero in on the concerns parties at specific stages of life and affluence are most likely to want covered by their prenuptial agreement: YOUNG-YOUNG, EQUAL ASSETSand—For young people in the early stages of promising careers, where each has some assets and wants to protect these, as well as their careers, as separate property. YOUNG-YOUNG, DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETSand—For people of middle age or younger, where one already has, or is likely to acquire, substantial assets, and wants to protect these assets as separate property, while reasonably providing for the needs of the marriage, as well as the spouse and any children upon divorce. YOUNG-OLD, DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETSand—For a couple with a large age disparity, where the older party has substantial wealth which he or she wants to preserve for his or her estate, and also wants to provide for disability or incapacity. OLD-OLD, DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETSand—For an elderly couple, where one party has substantially fewer assets than the other, yet is comfortable, and where both want to protect their separate property, provide for a comfortable lifestyle during the marriage and reasonably provide for the spouse with fewer assets upon death or divorce. OLD-OLD, EQUAL ASSETSand—For older parties with similar assets who want to protect their property as separate, yet provide an arrangement by which they can live commensurate with their resources. Drafting Prenuptial Agreements includes a CD-ROM with sample agreements and hundreds of time-saving clauses!

This book deals with a subject that has recently been the focus of debate and law reform in many jurisdictions: how much scope should spouses have to conclude agreements concerning their financial affairs - and under what circumstances should such agreements be binding and enforceable? These marital agreements include pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and separation agreements. The book is the result of a British Academy-funded research project which investigated and compared the relevant law of England and Wales, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the jurisdictions of the United States. In addition to chapters on these jurisdictions, the book includes a chapter on the 'English practitioner's view'. It also provides a comparative analysis of the different matrimonial property regimes and the rules on marital agreements that explores underlying themes and principlesand makes recommendations for regulating marital agreements. A key theme is the function and effect of marital agreements in the different jurisdictions. Thus, each chapter first explains the underlying 'default' rules for ancillary relief/matrimonial property and maintenance. It then analyses the current rules for marital agreements, and gives a brief account of the private international law rules. The book provides a comprehensive source of reference on ancillary relief/matrimonial property and maintenance and the rules on pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and separation agreements in 14 jurisdictions. It offers guidance for academics and practitioners dealing with international matters, and a basis for discussions on law reform. 'I applaud the vision and perseverance of Jens Scherpe in having conceived this book and, with so much distinguished help, in now bringing it to birth. I will be using it for many years and I warmly invite my fellow family lawyers across the world to do likewise.' Foreword by The Rt Hon Lord Wilson of Culworth, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

Premarital Agreements, Second Edition is an updated clearly written primer that focuses on the fundamentals involved in negotiating and drafting these agreements, explaining the most critical aspects involved in creating a premarital agreement. A premarital agreement is a contract between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage. Historically courts refused to enforce premarital agreements at divorce, believing that such contracts made divorce too easy. That began to change in the early 1970s until every state, by statute or case law, permitted prospective spouses to predetermine in a premarital agreement their rights to property at divorce and, in the majority of states, to fix or waive the right to support.