In case of a divorce, what happens to assets accumulated before the marriage?

Throwaway4120213 · 2021-08-31T19:59:07+00:00

Best way is to get a pre-nup that spells out exactly what your pre-marital assets are and that the principal and capital appreciation remains your separate property in the event of a divorce. Then do not comingled these assets post-marriage.

However - this still doesn’t mean you can’t get financially screwed. Everything you earn from marriage gets split. If you are a high earner and she is a lower earner - you will owe her alimony regardless of whether you have kids. If you plan to have kids and she becomes a SAH - that’s the jackpot for her. Even though a Court can’t give her your pre-marital assets - they can look at your whole financial situation and say - “you look pretty well off so you can afford to pay her a shitload of alimony and child support until you retire.”

Some state laws explicitly consider your financial positions and can “overcompensate” the worst off spouse with higher than usual alimony payments so they get a buffer period to build their savings. Judges also do this whether they admit it or not.

Just don’t get married.

EDIT: If you insist on getting married - these are the practical moves to reduce being financially decimated in divorce: - Prenup and do not comingled - Do not let her quit her job, be a SAH or you be the sole provider - Delay marriage as much as possible so you can build up more pre-marital assets that she can’t touch and starts the clock on your marriage timeline later (longer you’re married, longer you pay) - no reason to get marry until at least you are ready to have kids - Don’t have kids - Do not get marry or live in an alimony friendly State like California - Reassess your marriage at every milestone when alimony liability skyrockets - at 5yrs, 10yrs, at 15yrs and at 20yrs - if you are unhappy - file for divorce. Countless stories here how guys were on the fence and kept waiting without realizing once you trip these milestones dates - alimony goes up.

Good luck. Hope you make it out okay.

MisterEdGein8 · 2021-08-31T21:17:23+00:00

How about just not getting married? How many guys have gotten absolutely fucked in this sub (myself included), and you're gonna roll the dice?
Just tell her, you love her but you don't want to sign the contract. If she doesn't agree, Bye Felicia.

25_years · 2021-09-01T01:34:45+00:00

Dude, you're not even married yet, and you're posting in a forum for DIVORCED men?

Red flag much? The answer is in the question. Why are you getting married? You want to see if the trap is real?

AffableHandyman · 2021-08-31T19:15:13+00:00

Your best friend is documentation documentation documentation. Take a snapshot of your financial condition before marriage essentially. As long as you have it well documented that you owned x amount of stuff before you were married and can prove that you had x amount of capital gains after marriage she is only entitled to 50% of the capital gains after marriage amount. Also document your debts.... she is responsible for 50% of your debts after you get married as well.

fps81 · 2021-08-31T20:31:22+00:00

Talk to a lawyer about how assets can become community property. For example, if you sell stocks to buy a house while you’re married, that can cause that whole asset to become marital property. A prenup should protect your assets if you don’t end up having kids, but in the event you have children, or if the marriage lasts longer than 10 years, prenups will typically not be followed.

thefudmaster · 2021-09-01T02:08:35+00:00

Prenuptial agreements are not worth the paper they’re written on. Why do you feel the need to get married and risk more than half or all of your assets OP?

boxofchocolatenow · 2021-09-01T04:27:14+00:00

Pre nup is not as useful as keeping accounts separate. Do not use your pre marital accounts to pay for any joint/household expenses. As in life, you are entering into a different life stage. Keep your finances that way. I am also not sure if pre nup is the best way to go, it certainly is an uncomfortable conversation. The best way is to spend a little and consult a lawyer given your net worth to protect you wealth.

Don’t make the mistakes most men made. If it comes down to a divorce in the future, she would not care the least if you end up on the streets as long as she gets hers. It is the same story every divorce every time. I hate to say it but you are probably her retirement plan, protect yourself. Love is blind, because you inevitably want to gouge your eyes out.

crypto_keeper88 · 2021-09-01T15:19:59+00:00

Only get married if you are cool with losing half of everything you have spent your life earning.

Chip512 · 2021-08-31T22:19:01+00:00

Talk to your attorney, they may have ideas beyond a prenup to protect your assets. At the very least keep an attorney engaged and get them to maintain a list of assets before and during your relationship (married or not). Stand firm on not spending your pre-marriage assets for that home remodel, dream vacation, or kids college - those assets are your lifeboat if the marriage sinks. Failure to pay close attention May cost you most of your assets

velesxrxe · 2021-09-01T17:07:16+00:00

Assuming you live in the United States.

The harsh reality is that by signing a marriage certificate you in effect signing a contract exposing you to unlimited legal and financial liability without much return to you.

I guess you could have her sign a prenup. But prenups are routinely ignored by courts in some jurisdictions just like you said yourself. Plus that’ll probably put a damper on the romance of the occasion.

Oh and all the money you’ll continue to make on your investments after the date of marriage? That’s not yours any more.

SquareVehicle · 2021-09-02T20:26:00+00:00

Do not rely on Reddit for this question, go talk to a lawyer about this and get a second opinion. What you need to do is going to HEAVILY depend on your particular state and your particular situation. As a divorced person who got a prenup for their 2nd marriage, there's some outright totally wrong things in the replies.

But at least you're thinking about the possible consequences. Most people have no idea what they're legally agreeing to when they sign their marriage license even though the most important, far reaching, and possibly expensive legal contract of their lives.

Independent_Cap7714 · 2021-08-31T19:04:01+00:00

Really depends on the state. In Texas for instance anything created or gained after the marriage besides inheritance is considered community property and therefore is subject to being split. But asset division isn't simple, you have to remember that debts also get split, so you may be able to negotiate through mediation.

pegleg_legal · 2021-09-01T07:19:42+00:00

Where there is any significant disparity in income and wealth, a prenuptial agreement is a good idea. Selling her on this idea is another story but her reaction to the suggestion can be a pretty good test in itself.

The general rule is that assets acquired before the marriage or through inheritance during the marriage are considered non-marital property not subject to division in a divorce. However that rule has a lot of exceptions that vary state by state. Some of the major exceptions being actions that can convert the property from marital to nonmarital (such as comingling) and that the increase in value or income generated from non-marital property is typically marital. For example, if you have a non-marital house that you rent out for $500 a month during the marriage and that house increases in value by $50,000, that rent and appreciation may be marital and subject to division. Similarly with investments, such as crypto, the capital gains may be deemed to be marital.

The main purpose of the prenup is to limit or eliminate those exceptions having the potential to convert the property from marital to non-marital.

Another purpose of the prenup is to keep finances legally separate and non-marital. Such as salary. The parties would then, in a fair manner, contribute to a joint account, which would be marital, to cover expenses and decide whether certain purchases would become marital or non-marital property.

When effective, they are a pretty good tool for limiting financial conflicts should the marriage end. At the same time, they're not bulletproof - having kids being the big disruptor - and may sometime be invalidated by the court.

Sea-Mission-6316 · 2021-09-01T13:34:40+00:00

Brother, please listen to those who are sharing their experiences with you. Don't get married and don't cohabitate. Getting married was the worst mistake of my life. I'm still dealing with the consequences years later. Stay single and enjoy your life. Read the other posts in this forum and look at some of the others like surviving infidelity. They will give you some insight into what can happen. These days, relationships entail a huge risk, and the odds are not in your favor.

An old man told me many years ago that the woman you marry is not the same one you divorce. Her true self will come out during the divorce. Truer words have never been spoken. The court system will be stacked against you since you have a P-nice, and the experience is not pretty. I hope you make a good choice. If you don't, come back in few years and let us know how it's going. Good luck.

BlendedChaos2012 · 2021-08-31T19:24:12+00:00

Get a prenup.

Calm_Tomato · 2021-09-01T04:15:50+00:00

Get a prenup to protect your assets. Also, anything acquired before marriage is yours. Keep records of it and keep it separate if possible. Luckily I was able to show that 1/3 of the retirement assets were acquired before marriage.

Title	In case of a divorce, what happens to assets accumulated before the marriage?
Author	segmentfaultError
Upvotes	12
Comments	34
Date	August 31, 2021 6:56 PM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/pfcbgj/in_case_of_a_divorce_what_happens_to_assets/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/in-case-of-a-divorce-what-happens-to-assets.1065922 https://theredarchive.com/post/1065922

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