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pre-nup

  • 23-01-2012 12:24pm
    #1
    aj77a
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭


    Hello,
    Thinking of getting married, but we have some concern with the legal issues surrounding it.
    Is there anything we can do that would protect our family assets in the event of a breakup?
    We discussed it and are both in favor of having it.

    A pre-nup is not worth much in this country but what are the alternatives?
    Could we go abroad or have some contract written up?

    If we don't get married what are the consequences?
    Will there be a problem with the children's names or their rights or mine?


Comments

  • #2
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,363 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    Firstly, I am not a lawyer so this is just my understanding of the law as an ordinary joe soap:

    No pre-nup is worth anything in an Irish family court as they are no-fault divorce.

    Unmarried, the father has no automatic guardianship of the children, legally he will be a stranger to them: unable to sign for hospital treatment, arrange for their passport etc. This can, however, be obtained through the courts. The children can be given either parents name once the parents are named on the birth cert.

    Should they take the woman's name, the HSE will only re-issue a birthcert in the father's name on the event of your marriage.

    Unmarried neither partner can claim for alimony from the other until they've lived together for 5 years (or 3 with children). This was only brought in under changes to the civil rights bill in the last year or so, however, so I've not heard of the law being tested in court yet. If it doesn't hold water in court, neither partner would be entitled to anything from the other unmarried.

    TBH, if you're that unsure of each other, why marry/have children? Though, if the civil partnership law holds up (or has already held up) you're as good as considered married by the courts anyway once you've lived together for more than a few years.

    If you want to go ahead anyway, could an alternative to be to transfer family assets back to the families from which they've come e.g. the farm back into his/her father's name etc.?


  • #3
    aj77a
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2 ✭aj77a


    Hi Sleepy, thanks for your reply.
    Sleepy wrote:
    TBH, if you're that unsure of each other, why marry/have children?

    We are sure of each other - the pre-nup is just financial planning for the worst case.
    I imagine all couples who get divorced were sure of each other too.
    Sleepy wrote:
    Though, if the civil partnership law holds up (or has already held up) you're as good as considered married by the courts anyway once you've lived together for more than a few years.

    That's an interesting point. Thanks.


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