Premarital, Marital, and Marital Settlement Agreements

Premarital Agreements

Premarital agreements can provide a sense of security to soon-to-be-spouses. When carefully crafted, premarital agreements establish how assets and debts will be divided at the time of divorce or death. They may also limit spousal support obligations. The validity of premarital agreements depends upon whether they are drafted in conformity with the law.

Law Office of Renee M. Fairbanks works with prospective spouses in either reviewing or drafting premarital agreements so that the prospective spouse can have some certainty relating to their financial affairs in the event of divorce or at the time of their death.

Marital Agreements

After marriage, spouses may seek to define their property rights differently than set forth in a premarital agreement or as established by California’s community property laws. They can do so by entering into a marital agreement.

Since spouses are in a confidential relationship, they have fiduciary duties to one another. That means that a marital agreement must be drafted in keeping with a spouse’s fiduciary duties. Further, a marital agreement cannot violate public policy.

Law Office of Renee M. Fairbanks has experience in drafting marital settlement agreements, as well as litigating their validity at the time of divorce.

Marital Settlement Agreements

Marital settlement agreements are the working document for defining, among other things, how a community estate is divided, the amount of child or spousal support that is to be paid, the attorneys’ fees and costs that are to be paid, and the equalizing payment that is to be paid.

Careful drafting of marital settlement agreements is essential. A carefully drafted marital settlement agreement provides certainty for spouses as to what their obligations and entitlements are.

Law Office of Renee M. Fairbanks has extensive experience in drafting, reviewing, and revising marital settlement agreements, so that they reflect what the parties intend for resolving their divorce or legal separation matter. Further, Law Office of Renee M. Fairbanks has litigated requests to set-aside marital settlement agreements due to fraud or omitted assets.

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    Mon, Dec 16, 2019

    Renee M. Fairbanks, a certified specialist, was recently admitted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). The AAML is organization comprised of highly skilled family law attorneys throughout the country. Ms. Fairbanks is thrilled to be accepted in such a prestigious group of professionals.

  • Renee M. Fairbanks will be speaking at Cal-CPA Family Law Conference

    Wed, Oct 09, 2019

    Renee M. Fairbanks, CFLS, will be speaking at the upcoming Cal-CPA Family Law Conference. Ms. Fairbanks and forensic accountant, Marie Ebersbacher, CPA, ABV, CFF, CFE, will be speaking on business apportionment after Marriage of Brooks. The conference will be held on October 17, 2019 in Los Angeles and October 18, 2019 in San Francisco. Information on enrollment can be found here. http://conferences.calcpa.org/family-law-conference/

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