|
|
|
|
|
| A "SHOTGUN" PREMARITAL AGREEMENT SOURCE: RECER EXPERIENCE. On Maryland's Eastern Shore, a lady of 83 years came in for estate planning. She was accompanied by two of her children. One of the children spoke up and said, "We are concerned about Mom's marriage ... and about her rights." Several years before, she had married for the second time. Living together for 7 years, the couple then separated. But, they did not divorce. At the time of my meeting, they were living apart; but, were still married. Her daughter said, "Here is our question. We want to know about Mother's Premarital Agreement." Then she explained that, two days before the wedding, her Mother's husband had taken her to his attorney's office where she was presented with a Premarital Agreement all prepared and ready for her to sign. Of course, she had no attorney present; but, did agree to sign the instrument. Much later, she learned that her husband had a much larger estate than she had imagined. His net worth exceeded $1.2 million. Now, Mother and family wanted to know Mother's rights. I explained the common rules of a Premarital Agreement, noting that every state is a little different and that I could not say specifically if this document was legally binding. I showed them the basic rules of a Premarital Agreement.
While I was not able to assure them that they would be able to overturn the instrument, I gave them much hope. Obviously, the document she had signed was not executed under these terms. Copyright, 1996, Recer Estate Services, Inc. - Revised March 1997 |
|
