Location: NY and AL
We are in NY and his dad is in AL
My fiancé and his father have the same name and when his father was setting up his business, we believe he put it under ownership of my fiancé and his siblings. I have money and worry that if anything happened to or with the business that I would somehow be responsible or liable for it.
We plan to get a pre-nup but we also want to see if we can remove my fiancé from anything with his father. I don’t know where to even start with this- what kind of lawyer or action do we need to take? Our wedding is in October and honestly we are so far removed from his dad that I kind of forgot about it until now, as I’m buttoning things up for the wedding.
My fiancé does have credit monitoring but what else should we do? We don’t even know if there’s more than just the business.
Thanks
Comments
If you’re going to get a prenup, you should both be represented by counsel. Share your concerns with yours and they can help you structure your risk.
Is he profiting or making money through these businesses as owner? Either way – but especially if not – if I was him, I’d go beyond credit monitoring and freeze my credit to prevent Dad from using his info further. You can do it free but you have to do it through all the big 3 separately (links here for Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) and it blocks credit reporting agencies from sharing your credit file.
Separately, information about the risk he’s actually carrying here is key. He needs to ask his dad what businesses he’s on and get a copy of their organization and operating docs (are these sole proprietorships? LLCs? Member managed? Manager managed? What is he listed as?) He also needs to know if these businesses he’s on are properly covered (do they have CGL coverage? What are the limits? Umbrella?)
Your fiancé needs to file a police report to start. If what you say is true, it is felony identity theft. Yes it can make your life very complicated in the years and years to come. It’s also getting close to being too late for a prenup. They should really be signed at least six months before the wedding. Your fiancé also needs to lock down his credit with all three agencies, he can do that today.