LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - January 31, 2011) - According to the website Divorce Statistics (www.divorcestatistics.org), around 50% of marriages in America now end in divorce. These statistics have fueled the market for prenuptial agreements, however Los Angeles Family Law Attorney Mark B. Baer points out that while the number of couples entering into pre and post-nuptial agreements continues to escalate, fewer and fewer attorneys are handling them due to the increasing liability to attorneys involved in such agreements.
"Whether an attorney is drafting, reviewing, or negotiating prenuptial agreements, they can be called into court as witnesses when one of the parties challenges the agreement," explains Baer. "Not surprisingly, the spouse who would be better off financially without the prenuptial or post-marital agreement tends to initiate the challenge. When that occurs, any attorney who had been involved in the agreement may well find themselves witnesses in the divorce proceeding, a role for which they receive no compensation."
According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), over the past five years (2005 - 2010) over 70% of divorce attorneys have seen an increase in the use of prenuptial agreements. However, as Baer points out, having a pre or post-nuptial agreement does not rule out challenges and lawsuits.
"The fact is, we are living in what psychologists refer to as the 'Age of Entitlement,' where narcissism has become epidemic and people do not wish to take responsibility for their actions. In an effort to offset the rising costs borne by challenges to pre- and post-marital agreements, attorneys are now charging more to draft, review or negotiate these marital agreements."
Says Baer, "If a marriage involving one of these agreements ends in divorce, and if the prenuptial or post-marital agreement is challenged, it creates a great deal of risk to those attorneys who have been involved in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating the agreements.
"Any attorney who charges less than $10,000 to handle such matters is foolish. While that may seem like a lot of money for each party to spend, it is one of the consequences of the fact that people blame others, rather than take responsibility for their own actions."
He notes, what was originally created as a means of protecting the finances of the principal earner is now, itself, a major point of contention.
Mark B. Baer has practiced law in Los Angeles for nearly twenty years with an office in Pasadena, CA. His firm represents individuals on issues regarding family law, divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, restraining orders, paternity actions, or domestic partnerships. For more information, please visit: www.markbaeresq.com
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For more information, please contact:
Mark B. Baer, Esq
(626) 389-8929
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