Legal Question in Family Law in California
My wife and I briefly moved to and got married in NY. We have been back in CA the past 3 years. A section of the Postnuptial agreement states: "Whereas the Parties are married under the laws of the State of________??____". Do we write CA or NY?
2 Answers from Attorneys
You are entering into this postnup in CA while CA residents, so CA law governs the agreement itself, but not necessarily everything in it. Without reviewing the entire agreement and the aspects of your marriage covered by it, no one can tell you for sure what is the correct jurisdictional statement, and of course you can modify it by agreement to some extent. This is just a classic example of what seems fairly simple to lay people is fraught with issues if you know the law, which is why people are almost invariably penny-wise and dollar-foolish trying to do these things themselves. Post-nups are not the province of amateurs and you will spend thousands by trying to save hundreds if you wind up litigating over it.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. McCormick. You would absolutely want to discuss this matter with a qualified family law attorney in your area.