Prenuptial Agreements: How to Write a Fair and Lasting Contract [Paperback]

Katherine E. Stoner (Author), Shae Irving (Author)

Book Description

Series: Prenuptial Agreements | Publication Date: April 2004

Marriage is one of the few personal contracts in which your state dictates the terms -- unless you create your own customized premarital agreement.

Combining Nolo's legal expertise and plain-English writing, Prenuptial Agreements makes a potentially touchy subject easy to deal with while explaining how to create a valid contract. The book covers:

*the basics of prenups *whether a prenup is right for your relationship *how to decide what a prenup should include *every state's laws about prenups and marital property *how to assemble a draft agreement *how to turn your draft into a contract *tips on negotiating and communicating

Prenuptial Agreements provides worksheets to help you and your fiance determine what your prenup should cover, plus clauses for preparing an agreement that suits your needs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A comprehensive and well-written guide that will greatly help couples - and lawyers - in drafting prenuptial agreements. -- Stuart Walzer, family law attorney & author

About the Author

Katherine E. Stoner is an attorney/mediator in private practice with the firm of Stoner, Welsh & Schmidt in Pacific Grove, California. In addition to mediation, her practice includes consulting attorney services for clients who are in mediation. Ms. Stoner is a Certified Family Law Specialist, who teaches community property at Monterey College of Law and is on the training staff of the Center for Mediation and Law in Mill Valley, California. She has lectured extensively on family law and mediation.

Shae Irving graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley in 1993. She did a brief stint at a San Francisco law firm before she turned and ran screaming toward Nolo. She is the co-author of the Legal Manual that accompanies Nolo's WillMaker software. In addition, she edits many Nolo titles, including Nolo's Everyday Law Book, Nolo's Pocket Guide to California Law and Estate Planning Basics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: Nolo; Bk&CD-Rom edition (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873379969
• ISBN-13: 978-0873379960
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,740,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Marriage

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prenuptial Agreements Are A Necessity And So Is This Book, January 26, 2007

By 

M. Moss - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prenuptial Agreements : How to Write a Fair and Lasting Contract. (All Forms on CD-Rom) (Paperback)

As I am preparing to be wed for the second time in November 2007, it is necessary for me to execute a prenuptial agreement to protect my assets and the assets of my children. It would be irresponsible to marry without one. I have researched available information on the internet including a determination of the best book on this subject matter. I ordered this book from Amazon at the best price available and I was not disappointed. The book is informative and includes sample language and forms to prepare your own prenuptial agreement. I, however, will simply use the book as reference material so I can carry on an intelligent conversation with an attorney of my choosing. I would NEVER try to prepare and execute a prenuptial agreement on my own given the complexities, legal issues, and different circumstances of each person. If you are in my situation, order the book and learn from it. Then, seek out an attorney to prepare and execute the agreement to ensure it cannot be challenged. Although I have a distaste for attorneys, sometimes you just can't get along without them. Regards and I wish you all a long, loving and prosperous marriage.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abosolutely Fabulous, March 13, 2008

By 

D. Hermanson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prenuptial Agreements : How to Write a Fair and Lasting Contract. (All Forms on CD-Rom) (Paperback)

My now husband and I used this book and the included cd to write our pre-marital agreement. We did have seperate attorney's read it and explain it to avoid any conflict of interest excetra. Mine read it over for legality. His attorney was hesitant about not writeing it and allowing for reduced fees for only reviewing it because he sees too many that are not done well by do-it-yourselfers. However, after my husband's meeting he told me his attorney said that it was the most thurough and accurate do-it-yourself agreement he has ever seen!

I would highly recomend this, as well as negotiating lower fees if you choose to hire an attorny.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great introduction and hands-on guide, April 6, 2007

By 

AvidReader (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prenuptial Agreements : How to Write a Fair and Lasting Contract. (All Forms on CD-Rom) (Paperback)

In my opinion, everybody should have a prenup because the process of drafting one teaches couples how to talk about money - and invaluable asset in their marriage to come.
We used this book to plan our prenup before our marriage in 2005.
It gives you all the relevant information, helps you consider all the important points, and alerts you about differences across states etc.
We still used lawyers to bullet-proof the agreement, but knowing exactly what we wanted greatly cut down on fees. In fact, my lawyer commented that she rarely had such a well-prepared client and the draft of the agreement was the fairest she had seen in years.