Q: Married for 4yrs. I want to buy us a house. Can I have her sign that I keep the house if she decides to divorce me?
I'm paying 100% for the house because my wife is currently looking for a job.
A: Your question involves a post nup. This is an agreement between spouses that is similar to a pre-nup, where parties considering marriage enter into an agreement that seeks to protect each future spouse's pre-marital assets. A post-nup occurs after the parties are already married and are entering into an agreement so that one of the parties gives up something that party would otherwise be allowed in a divorce. Post-nups require some consideration, or giving to the one who is giving up some right, to be valid. Post-nup law is complicated and you and she will both need to retain an attorney to be sure it is upheld later in court. In a divorce the court will take into account your post-nup along with factors like the length and time of your marriage, your income versus your wife's income and the potential for both of you for future income, what other assets there are in the marriage to divide, who gets custody of the children, if any, what your wife did for the years she did not work and why she did not work, along with many other issues that can apply. Unless both you and your wife were represented in entering into this post-nup and the post-nup is properly entered into with full disclosures and your wife receiving something for giving up her rights of the marriage, the courts do not uphold them.
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