Christopher S. Mulvaney,

Attorney and Counselor-at-Law

---

THIS WEBSITE INCLUDES GENERAL INFORMATION & THE OPINIONS OF CHRISTOPHER S. MULVANEY. IT IS INTENDED TO STIMULATE A BASIS FOR QUESTIONS RELATED TO YOUR PARTICULAR FACTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES — BEFORE YOU ACT.  THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU WANT LEGAL ADVICE, PLEASE MAKE A ZOOM APPOINTMENT TO SPEAK WITH ME.

CONTACT CHRISTOPHER S. MULVANEY FORM

DISCLAIMER:

The use of email or this form for communication with MULVANEY LAW OFFICE, PLLC does not establish an Attorney-Client Relationship. If you don’t think I have responded, please check your spam folder. Time-sensitive information should not be sent through this Form or through email. Sensitive information can be uploaded to an encrypted Dropbox folder in your client file. Google Review Link Yelp Review Link

---

Gonzaga University School of Law – Spokane, Washington – Class of 2002 – Cum Laude The Latin phrase “Deo patriae, scientiis, artibus” translates to “For God and country through sciences and arts”.  The initials A.M.D.G. on the seal of Gonzaga Law School stand for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, which is Latin for “For the Greater Glory of God” the Motto of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): a Catholic religious order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

_________________________

“Judicial reform is no sport for the short-winded.”
– Arthur T. Vanderbilt

The best practice is to sign the Estate Planning documents before you are married so that you can open Trust Checking accounts and name your Separate Trust as Primary Beneficiary.  You should request the Spousal Consent forms for each institution and fill them out so they can be signed with your Estate Plan.  Any Deeds will also be signed when you sign your Estate Plan.  The Deeds can’t be recorded until you are married and the Spousal Consent forms can’t be submitted and you can’t have the statements that come the month after marriage to create accurate date of marriage values in the exhibits  before marriage.  

Those three reasons are why signing the Postnuptial Agreement that you have agreed to before marriage after you are married is important.

1.  Deeds can’t be recorded until you are married, and

2. Spousal Consent forms can’t be submitted until you are married, and 

3.  you can’t have the statements that come the month after marriage to create accurate date of marriage values in the exhibits  before marriage

You can let me know two dates to meet via ZOOM, one before, and one after marriage.

You don’t have to sign an Agreement before you get married; you just need to agree.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Married people are free to sign a Postnuptial Agreement anytime they want. There are various reasons for doing so. One of the most common is a Separation Agreement. Married people can divide their assets and debts however they want. Since you agreed to it before marriage you can call the agreement a Prenuptial Agreement. For some reason people think there is a difference between a Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreement. The difference is only relevant if you are attempting to get a larger share of Community Property During marriage which is unfair. A Prenuptial Agreement signed before marriage is very likely to be modified by a Postnuptial Agreement signed after marriage in which the bargaining positions have changed. A Prenuptial Agreement signed before marriage protects the spouse who has more wealth. A Postnuptial Agreement signed after marriage is the spouse who has less wealth clawing back some of that advantage. That is why a Prenuptial Agreement signed after marriage combines both types of Agreements and is much more likely to be fair.

The presumption of Community Property applies no matter how the property is titled.

So, married people could create Separate Property Trusts and fund them with the property that they intend to be theirs after the divorce. This can reduce anxiety and give a sense of control that common assets don’t.

POSTNUPTIAL AGREEMENT EXHIBITS

I have two exhibits for each spouse in my Prenuptial Agreements signed after marriage. One is for Property owned before marriage and the other is for property acquired after marriage. Below is the description of the contents of those exhibits on the exhibit cover sheet in the Prenuptial Agreement.

PROPERTY OWNED BEFORE MARRIAGE

Jane and John Married on ________ in _____________.

I do recommend signing estate planning documents, particularly, Separate Property Trusts, before marriage. The reason is to allow for the creation of the Trust checking accounts and naming of the Trust as Primary Beneficiary.

That way signing after marriage is only of the Prenuptial Agreement already agreed to before marriage.

The documents that can be signed before marriage, but can’t be submitted to third parties until after marriage are:

1. Quitclaim Deed (Record After Marriage)

2. Promissory Note & Deed of Trust (Record After Marriage)

3. Spousal Consent Form (Submit to Account Custodian After Marriage)

You can’t waive Community Property rights until after you are married.

The Spreadsheet that forms the Exhibit must contain the date of marriage values and those values must be documented in order for this Agreement to be effective. Statements received after the month of marriage that include the balance on the date of marriage should be attached to the spreadsheet. A Zillow Screen Print of estimated home value for the month of marriage should be attached along with the Mortgage Statement for the month of marriage. Each and every account and debt should be documented. This includes (but is not limited to) Bank Statements, Retirement Account Statements, Brokerage Statements, and Credit Card Statements. A Kelley Blue Book Screen Print of car values should be attached as well.

Copies of Recorded Deeds as well as Spousal Consent Forms should be kept as well. Beneficiary Designation Screen Prints should also be included.

Hopefully, you will never be asked to prove your Separate Property. If you are, you will be grateful you kept the documentation described above because without it you don’t have Separate Property as a Married person.

PROPERTY ACQUIRED AFTER MARRIAGE

This is where you can track the contributions of each spouse to their 401(k) accounts during marriage. Every year when you do your taxes, if you make a habit of comparing the contributions of each spouse and contributing something to the net worth of the spouse who is contributing less then you do two things:

(1) you hedge against divorce by giving the Court a less severe adjustment to make because of the unfairness of one spouse accumulating so much more during the marriage; and

(2) you reduce anxiety in the spouse who is contributing less, and promote harmony during marriage. By thinking about fairness and acting on unfairness during the marriage you are better off if you stay married and better off if you get divorced. It is a win-win approach.

I wish that the Washington Legislature would enact a statute that equally divided the 401 (k) contributions (and employer matches) of married employees into one account for each spouse. I also wish the Legislature would make the surviving spouse the Primary Beneficiary without having to fill out the online form. In the meantime, we work with the system we have.

---

____________________________________________________________________________________

---

Washington State residents can meet with me in Zoom/DocuSign from anywhere in the world, and I can notarize their electronic signatures because I am a remote online notary.  Just email me an image of your photo ID.

---