Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

If there was no Prenuptial Agreement in place, then yes it's certainly possible. It would then depend on several factors, including your comparative contributions to the household during the marriage and the overall division of marital property at the time of divorce. Prenuptial Agreements are specifically designed to protect pre-marriage property from being awarded to the other spouse in the unfortunate event of divorce.

Yes, in Massachusetts the "marital estate" includes all property owned by each of the parties, whenever and however acquired by them. Property and assets would be divided fairly among the spouses according to a number of factors at the time of divorce.

It is great that you are thinking about this before you get married. The easiest thing to do to protect premarital property is to retain counsel and prepare a prenuptial agreement. These agreements can do as much, or as little, as you want them to do.

A prenuptial agreement, for example, can simply identify your premarital real estate as your individual property, and waive any claims your spouse may have to it. A prenuptial agreement can allow for no alimony, or provide for the calculation of alimony on a predictable and agreed-upon framework.

Feel free to contact our office if you would like to learn more. Best wishes!