Question: I read your blog post on prenups.  I don't understand why someone can get half of everything that someone else earns just because they were married.  Maybe she did not work for it.  And I don't understand why you have to tell someone about all of your assets like bank accounts, real estate, brokerage accounts and even collectibles.  That seems to me to be an invasion of privacy.

I'm getting married in almost three months and I don't know if I need a prenuptial agreement because I don't necessarily want to tell my fiancé about all my businesses and accounts.  I really don't know what to do.

I live in Woodstock and work in Duluth.  I have never been married and neither has my girlfriend.

Answer: A prenup is entered into by both spouses to ensure a predetermined division of assets should the marriage not work out.  People do not get prenups because they plan on getting divorced.  Because a prenuptial agreement is a contract regarding the splitting of assets should the marriage end in divorce, Georgia law requires that all assets are fully disclosed at the time the prenupt is signed.  And, yes, that includes collectibles.  We have seen parties disclose valuable collections of cars, art, antiques, baseball cards, guns, knives, wrist watches, ceramics and photographs.

A spouse is not necessarily entitled to half of the other spouse's assets after a divorce without a prenup. There are various factors that a court will consider when dividing assets, including duration of the marriage and ability of each party to be self-supporting.  A valid prenup, however, takes the discretion from a judge and provides a “blueprint” for dividing assets.

About Us

We are experienced and knowledgeable prenup lawyers.  Having served as a Magistrate Judge, an Assistant Attorney General and as an Assistant County Attorney has provided us with tremendous experience.

We at the Sherman Law Group welcome all questions and try to answer as many as possible on our blog.  If you have a question, email it to us and we'll do our best to answer it.  Of course, no names will be used.  If you want to speak to an experienced prenuptial agreement attorney at the Sherman Law Group, please call us at 678-215-4106.