Don’t Be The Next Betty Broderick: Get a Post-Nuptial Agreement Now

A Love Story In 1965, Betty Broderick met her future husband Dan Broderick. The couple was married on April 12, 1969. Dan graduated from Cornell medical school shortly after the birth of his first daughter in 1970. Instead of working as a doctor, he decided to attend law school. As Dan began attending Harvard Law School, Betty became pregnant with the parties’ second daughter. During Dan’s attendance in law school, Betty was the sole provider for the family. When Dan graduated from law school, he was hired by a law firm in San Diego, California and the family moved to the suburb of La Jolla. Subsequently, the couple had two more children, two sons, born in 1976 and 1979. During this time, Betty was a stay at home mother and Dan became quite successful a family law attorney. When The Red Flag Sounded For A Postnuptial Agreement In the fall of 1982, Dan hired a 21-year-old legal assistant, Linda Kolkena. About one year later, Betty suspected Dan was having an affair with Linda. Please note by this point in the couple’s relationship, they were quite wealthy as a result of Dan’s success as an attorney. In February 1985, Dan moved out of the marital residence. When the parties separated and during the divorce, Betty believed, as most people would, that half of everything belonged to her. But this was not the case! THAT IS WHY SHE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN A POSTNUPTIAL AGREEMENT! A postnuptial agreement in Florida is much like a prenuptial agreement in that it is a family law contract between spouses which sets forth terms for the splitting of assets should the marriage end in divorce. In addition, the postnuptial agreement can set forth the terms for alimony. There are many terms a couple may contemplate when entering into a postnuptial agreement. The only item that is forbidden by Florida law is the waiver of child support. A postnuptial agreement can help a couple establish similar financial expectations and ensure a more expeditious divorce by determining specific factors of the settlement in advance. A postnuptial agreement may include, but is not limited to, the following: alimony (including the amount, frequency and duration, division of assets, division of debt, and a parenting plan (including time-sharing and parenting responsibility). Furthermore, a postnuptial agreement eliminates uncertainty.   About the Author

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