We sat at my dining table. Ethan opened the champagne before I spoke.
“So,” he said, “tell Mom the good news.”
I slid two folders across the table.
Denise’s smile disappeared.
“What’s this?” Ethan asked.
“My counter-offer.”
The first folder contained a proposed prenuptial agreement. My condo stayed my separate property. His stayed his. Income from separate property remained separate. Each spouse remained responsible for debts incurred for their own relatives. Neither could be added to the other’s deed without independent legal advice and equivalent consideration.
Ethan stared at me.
I continued calmly.
“And since your plan is based on maximizing rental income, we’ll do it the smarter way. We move into your condo. I rent mine for forty-six hundred a month. My rent goes into my separate-property account. You keep paying your mortgage.”
Denise’s mouth opened.
Ethan went pale.
“But my place is smaller.”
