The Smart Woman's Guide to Property Law

Protect Your Assets When You Live with Someone, Marry, Divorce, and More

Carla Spivack

The income gap between women and men has gotten lots of attention in the last few decades: today women earn seventy-nine cents for every dollar men earn. But fewer people are aware of the much more serious wealth gap: for every dollar in wealth men own, women own thirty-two cents. Thirty-two cents! Wealth matters. Wealth is what gives us a financial safety net when we lose our jobs, break up a relationship or divorce, we or our dependents become sick, or when we are hit by some other financial crisis. It enables us to build security, to give our children a future, and to retire. It is passed from generation to generation, allowing wealthy families to stay wealthy over time. Wealth can generate income, whether through investments in the financial markets, or real estate, or through funding a startup business, and more. Significant wealth even allows us to influence our world by allowing us to contribute to political campaigns and policy initiatives. For these reasons, wealth is a better indicator of financial status than income: it reveals who is secure and influential and who is not.

By treating women and men equally without recognizing the gross social and economic advantages that differentiate us, the law perpetuates the wealth gap.

Here, Carla Spivack takes readers through a tour of a woman’s life stages and the property laws that may apply and hinder their financial independence. From living together to marriage, from divorce to inheritance, the circumstances invite unfair treatment that leaves women out in the cold. Understanding how to protect your assets, fight for what is fair, and increase financial security is increasingly important as the wage gap continues to flourish. Readers will learn about the laws that work against them and how to protect themselves regardless of their relationship status. For all women of all ages, here is your guide to keeping your wealth not matter how your relationship fares.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 200 • Trim: 5¾ x 9

978-1-5381-3491-7 • Hardback • April 2020 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-3492-4 • eBook • April 2020 • $34.00 • (£25.00)

Subjects: Family & Relationships / Divorce & Separation, Business & Economics / Personal Finance / Money Management, Self-Help / Personal Growth / Success, Law / Family LAW / Divorce & Separation, Social Science / Women's Studies

The Smart Woman's Guide to Property Law

Protect Your Assets When You Live with Someone, Marry, Divorce, and More

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The income gap between women and men has gotten lots of attention in the last few decades: today women earn seventy-nine cents for every dollar men earn. But fewer people are aware of the much more serious wealth gap: for every dollar in wealth men own, women own thirty-two cents. Thirty-two cents! Wealth matters. Wealth is what gives us a financial safety net when we lose our jobs, break up a relationship or divorce, we or our dependents become sick, or when we are hit by some other financial crisis. It enables us to build security, to give our children a future, and to retire. It is passed from generation to generation, allowing wealthy families to stay wealthy over time. Wealth can generate income, whether through investments in the financial markets, or real estate, or through funding a startup business, and more. Significant wealth even allows us to influence our world by allowing us to contribute to political campaigns and policy initiatives. For these reasons, wealth is a better indicator of financial status than income: it reveals who is secure and influential and who is not.

By treating women and men equally without recognizing the gross social and economic advantages that differentiate us, the law perpetuates the wealth gap.

Here, Carla Spivack takes readers through a tour of a woman’s life stages and the property laws that may apply and hinder their financial independence. From living together to marriage, from divorce to inheritance, the circumstances invite unfair treatment that leaves women out in the cold. Understanding how to protect your assets, fight for what is fair, and increase financial security is increasingly important as the wage gap continues to flourish. Readers will learn about the laws that work against them and how to protect themselves regardless of their relationship status. For all women of all ages, here is your guide to keeping your wealth not matter how your relationship fares.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 200 • Trim: 5¾ x 9

978-1-5381-3491-7 • Hardback • April 2020 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-3492-4 • eBook • April 2020 • $34.00 • (£25.00)

Subjects: Family & Relationships / Divorce & Separation, Business & Economics / Personal Finance / Money Management, Self-Help / Personal Growth / Success, Law / Family LAW / Divorce & Separation, Social Science / Women's Studies

Author

CARLA SPIVACK is Oxford Research Professor of Law at Oklahoma City University School of Law, where she has taught about wills, trusts and estates, family law and property for ten years. Before joining the faculty, Spivack practiced civil litigation at Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft, a New York law firm, and clerked for the Hon Robert G. Flanders, Jr. of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. Spivack is a leading voice in the movement to educate women about the pitfalls in the law and to advocate for legal change in the area of women and family wealth.Her articles about gender issues and property law have been published in the top ranked law reviews, and the best-selling casebooks read by law students cite her work in detail. She is a frequent speaker on women and the law at universities and laws schools around the country. She lives in Oklahoma City, OK.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 The Legal Pitfalls of Living Together

2 The Truth about Prenuptial Agreements

3 How Divorce Leaves Women Out in the Cold

4 The Role of the Law in Perpetuating Domestic Abuse

5 Caregiving’s Cost to Women

6 Disinherited—the Fate of the Surviving Spouse

Notes

Bibliography

Reviews

Spivack, a law professor at Oklahoma City University, offers this outstanding guide to help women navigate the many complexities of property ownership that are closely linked to such life events as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. The book delves into crucial topics, such as prenuptial agreements, alimony, life insurance, and estate planning, in clear and engaging terms, cleverly avoiding the use of legalese or intimidating technical language. For example, the finer points of contract law (e.g., when is an oral agreement considered binding?) are defined and discussed in simple terms using relatable scenarios. Real life property dispute cases are cited throughout, lending extra support to the professor’s assertions regarding a woman’s need to plan and prepare for every foreseeable eventuality. The scope and depth of this guide are impressive, and readers will find it accessible and informative. Highly recommended for public libraries.
— Booklist

In The Smart Woman’s Guide to Property Law, Professor Spivack provides just what the title promises. The book is a thoughtful primer, complete with practical suggestions, on just how women can protect themselves and their property from legal pitfalls as they move through their lives - and relationships.
— Naomi Cahn, Harold H. Green Professor, George Washington University Law School