Prenuptial Agreements & Protecting Your Wealth
I recently read that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has finally married the woman of his dreams, 26-year-old Crystal Harris. At age 86, one would wonder how or why he would do this. The why part is up to other Internet blogs. The how is quite easy. However, I'm willing to bet you he had a stable of lawyers put together a foot thick prenuptial agreement. Rumor has it that this agreement even includes provisions for her leaving the mansion when he passes away. Such provisions are very common with marriages that involve parties that have acquired their own set of assets. Protecting those assets is paramount to most persons.
In fact, it can even be said that prenuptial agreements are a necessary part of our society. Properly drafted and correctly executed, prenuptial agreements are enforceable in every state. Florida has a specific set of laws found at Florida statute 61.079, et. seq., commonly known as Florida's Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. Trying to read this statute and draft your own prenuptial agreement is tantamount to buying a book on surgery and hoping you get it right at the end. Statutes change with time, forms found on the Internet usually don't. Having an experienced family law lawyer review your family history, assets and liabilities, and your desires at the point in time when you pass away are all equally important in planning such a document. Trying to use yesterday's forms to deal with today's problems is a mistake many people regret down the road. Too often times they realize they failed to address important issues that come back to bite them when the agreement needs to be enforced.
Brian F. LaBovick, Esq.
Esther Uria LaBovick, Esq.
Marcie Dodson, J.D.
Rafael M. Diaz, Esq.
Mark R. Hanson, Esq.
Joseph R. Fields Jr., Esq.
Tara L. Kopp, Esq.
Warren Q. Peebles, Esq.
Joseph T. Zebrowski, J.D.