Legal Question in Family Law in California

There are various ways to defend claims against your separate property, but fraud is not one of them. Fraud is ground for annulment, but not after 5 years. There is a three-year statute of limitations for any action based on fraud, not to mention that fraudulent promise without intent to perform is one of the most difficult claims to prove. How do you prove they did not just change their mind? If you are concerned about claims against your separate property, and/or other financial claims in a divorce proceeding, you need to retain a family law attorney such as myself, at least on a consulting basis, if not to fully handle the case for you.

A judgment of nullity on the ground of �fraud� is proper only in extreme cases where the particular fraud goes to the very essence of the marriage relation. �A marriage may be annulled for fraud only in an extreme case where the particular fraud goes to the very essence of the marriage relation.� (In re Marriage of Ramirez (4th Dist. 2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 751, 757.)

Instead, the particular fraudulent intention must relate to the sexual or procreative aspects of marriage. In the absence of this type of fraud, the longstanding rule is that neither party may question the validity of the marriage upon the ground of express or implied representations of the other with respect to such matters as character, habits, chastity, business or social standing, financial worth or prospects, or matters of a similar nature. (In re Marriage of Meagher and Maleki (4th Dist. 2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 1, 3.)

Your separate property would just be confirmed as your separate property in any divorce. You may, however, have to pay spousal support. I suggest you speak to a competent family law attorney.