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Do You Need a Prenuptial Agreement?

ou cheered when
the Vermont
Supreme Court

issued its groundbreaking rul-
ing in the Baker case in
December. You watched with
fingers crossed as the
Legislature debated the civil
union bill, and you rejoiced
when Governor Dean signed
the bill into law. You’ve hired
the caterer, settled on the
music and flowers, reserved
the date, and sent out the invi-
tations. In planning your civil
union, you haven’t forgotten
anything.

Or have you?

Have you remembered to
consider a prenuptial agree-
ment? True, thinking about a
prenuptial agreement isn’t the
most romantic -way to get
ready for one of the mostjoy-
ous days in your life, but tak-
ing the time now to talk about
whether you need or want a
prenuptial agreement could
save you a lot of heartache
later on.

' A prenuptial agreement is
a contract between two peo-
ple who are entering into a
marriage (or a civil union),
signed by them before they
enter into the union. It
describes the assets and debts
each‘ party is bringing into the
union. It clarifies the rights
and obligations each spouse
will have to any assets and
debts they acquire in the

future. And it spells out the-

parties’ expectations. about
and rights to the income they
will each earn in the future.
Typically, prenuptial
agreements address these
issues in anticipation of the
possibility of a divorce
(although they can also
address these issues in con-
nection with the inevitability
of death). We certainly don’t
want to bring bad karma to
the institution of civil unions
even before it gets started,

. and we obviously don’t yet

have any statistics on civil
union divorces or “dissolu-
tions.” But we do know that
half of all heterosexual mar-
riages end in divorce, and if
only a fraction of spouses in
civil unions decide to end
their unions, some folks may
wish they had gotten a
prenuptial agreement ahead
of time.

How do you know whether
you need a prenuptial agree-
ment?

Vermont’s new civil union
law says that whenever the
word “spouse” is used in
Vermont law, it applies to
parties in a civil union as well

as to parties in a marriage.
(That’s right, once you get a
civil union, you are consid-
ered “spouses,” just like a
married couple. We should
start using that word, since
that’s what the law says.)
Since you will be consid-

- ered a “spouse” in the eyes of

Vermont law, when you enter
into a civil union you will
have access to the hundreds
of rights and benefits that
spouses automatically get
when they marry each other
in Vermont. By the same
token, you will also be
responsible for supporting
one another to the same
extent a married couple has to
support one another under
Vermont law.

In fact, the civil union law
specifically says that
Vermont’s divorce laws apply
to civil union break-ups. That
means that if you and your
spouse decide to end your
civil union, you must go to
family court, and the court
will decide who gets what
assets, who pays what debts,
and who has to pay what
amount of spousal support or
“alimony.”

Obviously, having access
to the family courts will be a
great benefit for many civil
union spouses, especially if
those spouses made non-
monetary contributions to the
household ashomemakers or
parents, or otherwise sacri-
ficed their careers in order to
support their spouse’s career.
For the first time in our histo-
ry, the law will step in and
provide much-needed finan-
cial protections for economi-
cally vulnerable spouses, in
the form of property awards
and spousal alimony.

On the other hand, when
you enter into a civil union,
you will lose the ability to
automatically keep whatever
assets are in your name when
you break up; instead, the
family court will decide how
your real estate, retirement
funds, stocks. inheritances
and all other assets will be
divided. Although the courts
will take into consideration
whose name the asset is in,
and who contributed to the
increase in the value of the
asset during the course of the
union, there is no guarantee
that you will be able to keep
the asset upon a break-up.
This is also true of debts: the
family court will decide who
is responsible for paying
credit cards and other debts
incurred during the course of
the civil union. Finally, the

family court will decide if
you are entitled to receive
alimony, or if you have to pay
it.

If any of these divorce
“rules” make you nervous,
you should consider a
prenuptial agreement. A
prenuptial agreement will
help you and your partner
spell out exactly what your
respective expectations are
with regard to each other’s
assets, debts, and income. In
the event of a break-up of
your relationship, it will also
tell the family court how you
want "to divide all of your
assets, debts, and earnings.

If the family court judge
finds that your prenuptial
agreement is valid, the judge

will abide by the terms of _

your prenuptial agreement,
even if Vermont law would
have required a different divi-
sion of the assets and debts
and income. To be valid, a
prenuptial agreement in
Vermont must satisfy" three
basic requirements.

First, each party must"
make a full and accurate dis-
closure of all of his or her
assets and debts, and attach
the list to the agreement.

Second, the agreement
must be fair; it will not be
enforceable if it completely
deprives one party of income
or assets upon divorce.

Finally, each party must
enter into the agreement
freely and voluntarily. This
means that you shouldn’t rush

around on the day before your ‘

union ceremony, trying to get
the agreement drafted and
signed; you should do it
weeks, if not months, in
advance, so you both have
time to read and contemplate
it. It also means that both of
you should review the draft
agreement with your own
attorney before you sign it.

Although a prenuptial
agreement isn’t as sexy as
picking out your honeymoon
destination, it is just as
important to consider. Feel
free to contact us if you have
any questions.

Susan Murray and , Beth

Robinson are attorneys at
Langrock Sperry & Wool in
Jlliddlebury. This column fea-
tures Iimely information
about legal issues of interest
to our community. If you'd
like to see us cover a particu-
lar topic, please feel flee to
write OIT M or call us at 388-
6356.7

 

V

Langrock Sperry & Wool offers the
services of 22 lawyers with over
300 years combined experience

in all areas of the law —- including
two lesbian attorneys with

special expertise s_erving the

legal needs of the g/l/b/t/q community.

CALL US ABOUT CIVIL
UNIONS, PRENUPTIALS, AND

ANY OTHER LEGAL
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

SUSAN MURRAY & BETH ROBINSON

With offices in Mlddlebury and Burlington
Mlddlebury (802) 388-6356
Burlington (802) 864-0217
smurray@langrock.com brobinson@langrock.com

Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

 

June 2000 | Out in the Mountains |19

 

Good legal advice
can make all the difference.

   

 

 

 
 

802.660.8396

Diane M. Felicia, Ph.D.

mediator

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