Posted by John Merchant on August 25, 2003 at 11:18:21:
If W was my daughter or sister, I think I’d advise her to see a lawyer and get some good local legal advice, to pin down exactly what she will own and be entitled to (and liable for!) when married.
This is the reason wealthy folk use a “pre-nuptial” agreement, so both H & W understand exactly what they’re getting, and committing themselves to, BEFORE they’re in too deep. Converting the vague promises to real, enforceable agreement before the deed’s done.
My inlaws were married during the Great Depression, and my father-in-law, being the perpetual joker, never missed an opportunity to say he thought he was getting a Cadillac, but actually got only a Chevy, my MIL’s parents being financially wiped out by the depression just after they met.
And in this case, I think a PNA might be a very good idea, to cut through the murk & mud and get to the rock bottom of what the guy really has, what rights she’s going to have, etc.