Arizona Family Law Lawyer & Attorney : NRG - Nirenstein Ruotolo Group

Absolutely. Although each person starts out owning all of his or her job-related income, many states allow this to be changed by an oral contract or even by a contract implied from the circumstances of how you live. These types of contracts often lead to misunderstandings during a breakup. For example, if there's no written agreement stating whether income will be shared or kept separate, one partner might falsely claim the other promised to split his income 50-50. Although this can be tough to prove in court, the very fact that a lawsuit can be brought creates a huge problem. For obvious reasons, it's an especially good idea to make a written agreement if a person with a big income is living with and supporting someone with little or no income.

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Paternity issues in Arizona have become widespread. Contact Arizona Family Law Firm, NRG, to discuss any issues related to paternity, i.e., child custody and child support.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks ace hurler Randy Johnson is embroiled in a courtroom fight with an ex-girlfriend over support for their 16-year-old daughter. Click here for the detailed court filings.

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If you haven't been together long and don't own much, it's really not necessary to make a written agreement. But the longer you live together, the more important it is to prepare a written contract making it clear who owns what -- especially if you begin to accumulate a lot of property. And, if you buy a house together, it's a good idea to create a property agreement.

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The U.S. Supreme Court March 20 invited the U.S. Solicitor General to file a brief expressing his views in a dispute over whether a retirement plan participant who named his spouse at the time of his retirement as his surviving spouse could change that designation after the couple divorced and the ex-wife agreed to waive her right to his benefits (McGowan v. NJR Serv. Corp., U.S., No. 05-853, invitation to file brief 3/20/06).

In a divided opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit last September ruled that the participant, James McGowan, could not change his beneficiary designation even though his ex-wife had waived her right to benefits (423 F.3d 241, 31 FLR 1524).

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Make rules about nonfinancial matters. For practical reasons, you should keep personal agreements out of your prenup. Here is a partial list of nonfinancial matters that sometimes find their way into prenups, but are better dealt with separately. Of course, the possible issues are endless and you may well think of many that aren't mentioned here:

* responsibility for household chores -- from laundry to cleaning to car care
* use of last names after you marry
* agreements about having and raising children, such as birth control, having children, children's names, child care responsibilities, and education
* how you will relate to in-laws or stepchildren, and
* whether you will have any pets and who will be responsible for them.

These kinds of nonmonetary agreements aren't binding in court, and in fact they could cause a judge to take your entire prenup less seriously. Rather than including personal matters in your prenup, you may find it helpful to simply make a list of your most important concerns and discuss them together. If you want to take it a step further, you can underscore your commitment by writing down your personal agreements in a separate document -- perhaps in a letter that each of you writes to the other, clarifying your intentions and wishes.

Copyright © 2006 Nolo

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"Encourage" divorce.

At one time, many courts viewed any prenup specifying how things would be divided up in case the couple splits as void and unenforceable because it promoted divorce. The modern approach allows such agreements, but judges in some states still take a hard look at them. If the agreement appears to offer a financial incentive for divorce to one party, it may be set aside.

Copyright © 2006 Nolo

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Give up the right to alimony, in a few states. A handful of states similarly limit your ability to give up your right to alimony -- also called spousal support or separate maintenance -- if there is a divorce. Other states permit such waivers, so you will need to know what your state laws say if you are considering this kind of agreement.(You can find the law for your state in Nolo's book, Prenuptial Agreements: How to Write a Fair & Lasting Contract, by Katherine E. Stoner, Attorney-Mediator and Shae Irving, J.D.)

Copyright © 2006 Nolo

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PHOENIX - State representatives voted Monday to make it illegal for a woman to sell her eggs, but refused to impose similar restrictions on men selling their sperm.

The House of Representatives said that a woman who sells her eggs could be sent to prison for up to a year and fined up to $150,000. The same penalty would apply to any organization or doctor who made the purchase.

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