Not that it isn't important to lay out those things before signing a marriage contract... but I'm not sure how much flexibility you have in deciding the (legal

Not that it isn't important to lay out those things before signing a marriage contract... but I'm not sure how much flexibility you have in deciding the (legal) penalties for breaking those informal expectations etc. I imagine the terms of a marriage contract are defined by each state, as sort of a take-it-or-leave-it contract. There might be ways to hedge, like prenuptial agreements. However (and not exactly the same thing), I recently spoke with a corporate attorney regarding company protections in the unfortunate case something happened to one of the company founders under various scenarios (e.g. if a company founder gets married and dies within 5 years of incorporation, is there a way to require the spouse to sell those shares back to the company, rather than them owning a controlling stake). Prenuptial agreements were brought-up, and my attorney basically said, "yeah those exist, and are an option, an expensive option, but in a legal battle, pffft, don't expect a prenup to be your pocket ace."