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Originally Posted by ThoughtAddict  Huh. My limited experience was the exact opposite. Most of them I drafted were for clients of a tax attorney who also did estate planning and the like. The few that resulted in a divorce led to quick resolutions according to the terms of the pre-nup. Then again, these were mostly people who fit the description you gave (high net worth) and generally professionals with two working partners.
My assumption was that they're fairly solid when done with adequate representation, full disclosure, and no compulsion... |
I worked on one of the most expensive divorces in history. A prenup was at issue, and complicated matters greatly. The husband maintained the prenup limited her to about $350,000. Her final settlement was $460 million. Had there been no prenup, the husband might have started from a more sensible position, and the case resolved more quickly.
I worked as an expert witness on a case, in which there was brutal domestic violence before the marriage. Despite the fact that the agreement had been drafted and redrafted by the attorneys and appeared substantively fair, it was thrown out. Had there been no prenup, the domestic violence issue and testimony would not have been nearly so prominent - almost irrelevant in a no fault divorce with no children.
I drafted a prenup for an internet millionaire's future wife, under the agreement that the husband would pay my bill. Looking back, I don't think that was wise. I sent the bill to the husband after the agreement was executed. The new husband threw a fit, said it was too big and she should pay it. The new wife walked out. A couple months later they were divorced, because of fight sparked by my bill for the prenup. She paid it in the end, by the way, and thanked me for being the impetus that got her out of a doomed marriage so quickly.
Those are some of my experiences with prenups.