fandomtownies | Cabot and Associates, Wednesday

With the wedding a lovely three weeks off -- not that Robin was freaking out or anything, don't be silly -- she figured that she probably ought to get on that whole pre-nup thing. So, Wednesday afternoon found her wandering into a building she'd never actually visited.

And now she would just try not to fidget, since she had no idea what this would really entail. "Hello?"

"Welcome," Alex said, closing her browser window with a click. Clients did not need to know she spent her free time browsing legal gossip sites. "Is there something I can help you with?"

She could hope this was a client. The last visitor had been. Maybe it was a trend?

Robin gave her a smile, moving over to offer a hand to shake. "I hope so. Robin Scherbatsky. I'm getting married in a few weeks and I need to draw up a prenuptial agreement, and...I have no idea where to start, honestly."

"Here's a good place," Alex said. She flipped her laptop closed and gestured to the seat across from her. "Congratulations on the wedding. Prenups are increasingly common. I'll assume your fiance knows and agrees to the idea? Each party should have their own lawyer, if you want the prenup to hold up in court."

She was going to not choose a pronoun until Robin did.

She took the seat, listening intently. "I don't actually know if he has his own lawyer," she said thoughtfully. "And I don't actually expect to, you know, divorce, but just in case." She bit her lip and shrugged. "I'd feel stupid doing this without a prenup. But he knows and is fine with it."

"No one marries expecting to divorce," Alex said. "It's only smart to have all your bases covered, first."

Unless you went crazy and ended up married during a freak trip to Virginia Beach, but that was another topic.

"He can take the agreement to his own lawyer after we lay the framework. If we make sure it's equitable, it should just be a formality. First things first: do either of you have children from previous relationships? Or elderly parents you want to be sure are cared for?"

Robin shook her head, but quickly added, "We have dogs, though -- five that I brought, one that's his, and then two that we've gotten since the beginning of the relationship. That's about as close to kids as we have, though. And his parents are dead and mine are relatively young."

"It's unusual," Alex admitted, "but we can absolutely include your pets in the provisions. As to household assets. What's the general outlay? Is one of you wealthier than the other, or due to come into an inheritance that you want to keep separate? Is one of you going to be supporting the other through years of higher education, like a medical degree?"

Edited 2010-07-22 01:25 (UTC)

"We make about the same amount of money," she said, nodding simply. "My pay rate varies a little because I tend bar on Thursdays in addition to being the deputy mayor, so there's tips to account for, but that's it. As far as inheritance goes, I'm probably going to inherit from my parents when they die, but I don't plan to keep that separate from Benton. And we're both long done with any school."

"In that case, this should be fairly straightforward," Alex smiled. "We draw up a basic arrangement. Any assets prior to the marriage stay separate; assets gained during the marriage are split equally. Provisions to be sure the dogs go to the right owners. We can even put in a sunset clause if you want. If the marriage goes on more than five or ten years, the prenup expires."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "That's a...really cute legal term," she said, smiling a bit. "We can throw one in there, sure."

Alex laughed, not unkindly. "They're binding," she said. "It means after that amount of time, the prenup is null and void, and everything is divided as if you never had one. Is that okay?"

She didn't want Robin agreeing to this on the basis of its name, then later being upset at realizing the full implications.

She couldn't resist adding, "Lawyers usually just hear dirty jokes about prophylactic rules."

"No, no, let's keep it," she said, laughing. "It's kind of romantic." Plus, if they divorced after like ten years, knowing Benton, he'd just let her keep everything anyway. "...but what's a prophylactic rule? Because it can't possibly be what I think it is."

"It isn't," Alex laughed. "It's one that exists to protect a Constitutional right. It has more oomph than it technically needs, in order to ensure that that right isn't infringed on. The Miranda rules reinforce the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, and therefore make it stronger, so they're a prophylactic rule."

Wasn't Robin sorry she asked? Never, ever get Alex on the subject of law. She thought it was fascinating.

"Three years?" she asked. "Five? Ten? It is, at that. I think it's supposed to indicate the point at which the marriage just didn't work, instead of one person trying to use the other as a quick paycheck."

Edited 2010-07-22 03:54 (UTC)

"Let's go with ten." She was romantic, but not reckless. "And I have to say, I'm sort of disappointed that it wasn't actually a condom law? But it's interesting." Robin smiled a little, and admitted, "I don't know all that much about American law -- I'm Canadian."

Ten. Alex was jotting down notes. Equitable division of assets, dogs, sunset clause.

"Really?" Alex asked, eyes lighting up with interest. "The Canadian legal system is similar to the US one, but with some interesting nuances. I actually had to argue a case in Canadian Court once, representing the people of New York on an extradition matter." She waved a hand. "Serial killer illegally crossing the border, but Canada won't extradite on death penalty cases. It's a human rights ruling they passed a few years back."

"Oh, Canada, you hippies," Robin said affectionately. "Most of my Canadian court knowledge is centered around copyright laws, honestly. And it used to be keeping my work visa up to date." She paused, and added, "I'm pretty sure Benton's a US citizen -- he's with the RCMP -- and I've got dual citizenship. That's not going to factor into this, is it?"

Sometime after Robin had left, there was Gibbs. Coffee in one hand and tea in another.

"Hey," he said simply putting down the tea and taking a sip from his coffee. "Heard you were busy while I was gone."

"I was," she said, taking the tea and nodding her thanks. "A murder case, off-island. I think she might even be innocent. Of course, as her lawyer, I can't ask."

It was complicated. If you knew your client wasn't, then you couldn't let them take the stand and lie.

"Did you have a nice trip?" she asked. "And do your underlings know there's another Mrs. Gibbs out there?"

Gibbs-Cabot, but really, who was counting?

Gibbs gave a little shrug to the first question. "Had to help a few friends with a couple of cases back home. Turned out well in the end," he said settling down into a chair across from Alex. "Tony blabbed about the wedding. Nobody would shut up about it."

"You told Tony?" she laughed. "I'm glad it all worked out. I had faith in you. The Marines always get their men. Or is that the Mounties?"

Alex wasn't good with armed forces distinctions. She even had an ex who would hate that she was currently married to one. Well, she did not need to ask Olivia's permission, here.

Edited 2010-07-22 04:15 (UTC)

"Marines do... something like that. Though that's a don't ask, don't tell policy," Gibbs joked. "Tony knew because I asked him to be my best man. Clearly that's grounds for insanity right there."

"Was he flattered?" she laughed. "I don't know what to think, that I didn't have any bridesmaids. I couldn't really ask Olivia."

Your ex did not make a good maid of honor. It was a nice rule of thumb in life.

"He thought I was nuts," Gibbs said shaking his head. "Which was probably true at the time."

Cabot and Associates, Wednesday

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