Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Pre-nup

I was recently in court on a case like this and the income of the new spouse of the mom was not taken into consideration. We even put his salary into the dissomaster and the amount of child support did not change.

Maybe another attorney will respond and provide additional information, but the research I did showed that the only time a new spouse's income will be taken into consideration is if the paying spouse isn't working. There has to be something more than a showing that the payee spouse remarried and has a spouse that earns money.

However, it is also my understanding that if you maintain separate bank accounts, this is helpful. Also, it couldn't hurt to have a prenup, but I don't know if this will help.

Re: Pre-nup

I would strongly recommend a pre-nup for various reasons. First of all, it is good for a couple to know from the get-go what they want the rules of their marriage to be, instead of having the State of California dictate those rules for them. I have yet to meet a single person who, once they were informed of the State's rules, thought the State's rules were a good thing. Secondly, although the new spouse's wages are not supposed to be direclty considered, there are several indirect ways a clever attorney can make this an issue. Furthermore, without a pre-nup, everything acquired after marriage becomes community property, even bank accounts held solely in the name of the new spouse. Your bank account could be seized to meet a support obligation. A pre-nup could provide you substantial protection.