Immigration After Trump's Election - and Your Prenup
Is your marriage immigration-motived?
Is immigration one more thing on your wedding planning list?
WARNING: DIY PRENUPS ARE POPULAR IN MANY STATES, ESPECIALLY AS MANY COUPLES ARE SUFFICIENTLY SOPHISTICATED TO DRAFT THEIR OWN ADEQUATELY. THAT'S NOT THE CASE IN FLORIDA, WHICH HAS A MORE COMPLICATED FAMILY LAW LANDSCAPE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE. PER NEW LEGISLATION IN 2023, FLORIDA PROHIBITS A TOTAL WAIVER OF ALIMONY. YOU CAN EITHER (1) LEAVE IT UP TO THE COURTS, WHICH NEGATES THE REASON FOR A PRENUP, OR (2) BUILD IN SUBSISTENCE ALIMONY THAT SATISFIES THE STATUTE THROUGH TRIGGERS, RESTRICTIONS, "FLOORS," AND "CEILINGS." HOWEVER, ALL OF THAT MUST BE DONE WITH RESPECT TO THE AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT, ALSO KNOWN AS FORM I-864.
Immigration-Driven Marriages and Prenups
If you are preparing to marry someone who is not a U.S. citizen, you are not alone. It’s estimated that about seven percent of couples in the U.S. are right there with you. While many couples are interested in the financial protections that prenuptial agreements can offer, if your marriage involves immigration concerns, you’re going to want to think carefully about whether a prenup is in your best interest or not. And you’re going to need an experienced Florida prenuptial attorney on your side.
Spousal Immigration and the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864)
American citizens have the legal right to sponsor their foreign spouse’s immigration to the United States via a family-based immigration visa. This will ultimately provide your spouse with Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status, which is commonly referred to as having a green card.
In order for your spouse to reach LPR status, you’ll need to enter into a contractual agreement with the U.S. government in the form of an Affidavit of Support. This contract formally acknowledges that you have the financial means to – and are prepared to – financially support your spouse at a minimum financial threshold (until he or she becomes an American citizen). You won’t be relieved of this financial responsibility – it’s important to note – even if you and your spouse divorce and even if you have a prenup. Many people, including licensed attorneys, mistakenly believe, that a prenup can shield you from the commitments you have made under the Affidavit of Support. To be clear, a prenup cannot.
However, a prenup becomes most important BECAUSE you have signed an Affidavit of Support.
An Affidavit of Support has you potentially supporting your divorced
spouse beyond what any state's alimony requirement might be.
Therefore, protecting your assets, the growth on your assets, and the reinvestment of your assets is critical as you may be paying alimony and child support well beyond your means. Florida has always protected premarital assets even without a prenup until 2018. In 2018, significant statutory changes were made that impact real property owners. Whether your assets are real estate, cash, or businesses, you need a prenup to protect the growth and the reinvestment of those premarital assets: the growth and the reinvestment during the marriage become marital property without a prenup.
Conditional Permanent Resident Status
For the first two years of your marriage, your spouse will be granted what is known as conditional permanent resident status. To lose the conditional status, you’ll need to demonstrate that you are actually married – not married for the purpose of obtaining citizenship – to the USCIS (in accordance with the governmental agency’s standards). If the USCIS isn’t convinced that your marriage is "real" and in good faith, your spouse may be required to leave the United States (or be barred from entry), and you could face civil and/or criminal charges.
When it comes to marriages involving spousal immigration, there is even more at stake than in most other marriages, and it’s important to get your legal ducks in a row, especially within the prenup itself: specifically, if the contract smacks of coercion, or if the court isn’t convinced that your spouse clearly understood the terms of the contract (especially if English isn’t his or her first language), it very likely won’t be upheld.
You know that you’re marrying out of love for one another, but it’s only natural to have financial concerns given the fact that divorce does happen. Further, if this is a second marriage, your finances are likely to be complicated and require more careful attention.
Do you need to pursue an immigration-driven prenup? Are you in a time crunch?
Please fill out our online form to request a free consultation with JustPrenups.
Warning: All posts on this website contain general information about legal matters for broad educational purposes only. This information is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. This blog post does not create any attorney-client or mediator-client relationship between the reader and JustPrenups.com.
Matrimonios y acuerdos prenupciales impulsados por la inmigración
Si se está preparando para casarse con alguien que no es ciudadano estadounidense, no está solo. Se estima que alrededor del siete por ciento de las parejas en los EE. UU. están ahí contigo. Si bien muchas parejas están interesadas en las protecciones financieras que pueden ofrecer los acuerdos prenupciales, si su matrimonio involucra preocupaciones de inmigración, querrá pensar detenidamente si un acuerdo prenupcial es lo mejor para usted o no. Y necesitará un abogado con experiencia en asuntos prenupciales de Florida de su lado.
Inmigración conyugal y declaración jurada de manutención (formulario I-864)
Los ciudadanos estadounidenses tienen el derecho legal de patrocinar la inmigración de su cónyuge extranjero a los Estados Unidos a través de una visa de inmigración basada en la familia. En última instancia, esto le brindará a su cónyuge el estatus de Residente Permanente Legal (LPR), lo que comúnmente se conoce como tener una tarjeta verde.
Para que su cónyuge alcance el estatus de LPR, deberá celebrar un acuerdo contractual con el gobierno de los EE. UU. en forma de Declaración jurada de manutención. Este contrato reconoce formalmente que usted tiene los medios financieros y está preparado para mantener financieramente a su cónyuge hasta un umbral financiero mínimo (hasta que él o ella se convierta en ciudadano estadounidense). No quedará eximido de esta responsabilidad financiera (es importante tenerlo en cuenta) incluso si usted y su cónyuge se divorcian e incluso si tienen un acuerdo prenupcial. Muchas personas, incluidos los abogados autorizados, creen erróneamente que un acuerdo prenupcial puede protegerlo de los compromisos que ha asumido en virtud de la Declaración jurada de manutención. Para ser claros, un acuerdo prenupcial no puede.
Sin embargo, un acuerdo prenupcial se vuelve más importante PORQUE usted ha firmado una Declaración jurada de apoyo.
Una Declaración Jurada de Apoyo le permite potencialmente apoyar a su pareja divorciada.
cónyuge más allá de lo que podría ser el requisito de pensión alimenticia de cualquier estado.
Por lo tanto, proteger sus activos, el crecimiento de sus activos y la reinversión de sus activos es fundamental, ya que es posible que esté pagando pensión alimenticia y manutención de los hijos mucho más allá de sus posibilidades. Florida siempre ha protegido los activos prematrimoniales incluso sin un acuerdo prenupcial hasta 2018. En 2018, se realizaron cambios estatutarios importantes que afectan a los propietarios de bienes inmuebles. Ya sea que sus activos sean bienes raíces, efectivo o negocios, necesita un acuerdo prenupcial para proteger el crecimiento y la reinversión de esos activos prenupciales: el crecimiento y la reinversión durante el matrimonio se convierten en propiedad conyugal sin un acuerdo prenupcial.
Cuando se trata de matrimonios que involucran inmigración conyugal, hay incluso más en juego que en la mayoría de los otros matrimonios, y es importante tener a sus asuntos legales en orden, especialmente dentro del propio acuerdo prenupcial: específicamente, si el contrato huele a coerción, o si Si el tribunal no está convencido de que su cónyuge entendió claramente los términos del contrato (especialmente si el inglés no es su primer idioma), es muy probable que no lo confirme.
Saben que se casan por amor mutuo, pero es natural tener preocupaciones financieras dado que el divorcio ocurre. Además, si se trata de un segundo matrimonio, es probable que sus finanzas sean complicadas y requieran una atención más cuidadosa.
¿Necesita buscar un acuerdo prenupcial impulsado por la inmigración? ¿Estás en una crisis de tiempo?
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