Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
I need legal advise regarding a matter, I signed a prenupital agreement which states that upon his death I would receive ten thousand dollars and I have given up my rights to house, land, furniture and cash money accounts. But I have now given the situation more thought and I want to be included in the living trust. So what can I do regarding this matter?
3 Answers from Attorneys
You signed a deal you do not like now. I am sure you do want to be included in the Trust and want more but he proposed a deal that you accepted. Unless he decides to include you, you cannot practically do anything. While you can try to revoke the agreement, that will open a slew of other issues for you, potential divorce being among them.
Ms. Johnson is correct that currently you can not do anything. The pre-nup might not be binding. If you did not have the opportunity to consult with an attorney or he significantly mislead you then you might be able to void it, but that will only come up once he is dead or you divorce. You probably should get some information now as to whether in the particular facts of your case the agreement is binding.
The first consideration is whether you would really be entitled to any of those things had you not signed the pre-nup. It sounds like yours is a late in life marriage, and if he accumulated all those things before you married, you may not be entitled to them anyway. The same goes for his living trust. If you might have some right to them but for the pre-nup, then you have to look at whether there is any grounds to void the agreement. If not, then you have to look at what the divorce provisions of the pre-nup are. If they are more favorable you may have to threaten, or even file for divorce to get a bigger share of the wealth. You really should sit down with an attorney and go over more details to get a better answer.