Question: My second husband and I met two years ago at the wedding of a friend. We married six weeks later. I am his fourth wife. I have one child from my first marriage who is now in college; my husband has two children. We are in our early 40’s. I am employed, but my husband is not since he inherited a large amount of money from his aunt and uncle and has more coming from his parents. Other than my first husband, whom I married at age 17, and my second husband, I have not been sexually active.

Six months after I remarried, I began to have some strange infections. My husband became alarmed and had me go to his physician. He shrugged it off, gave me some cream and a prescription, and told me this was part of getting old. It went away, but has come back twice. I didn’t tell my husband but went to my gynecologist, who had previously treated me for years. He told me I had herpes virus type 2, and that there is no cure.

In addition to feeling bad physically, I have been emotionally devastated. I have seen a lawyer, who said that based on the premarital agreement I signed; I have given up all rights to get any type of support or property settlement. I called two of his former wives. They refused to speak with me, but told me my lawyer could subpoena them.

Does this mean that I am left out in the cold? I have spent my earnings during the marriage to fix up his house, buy groceries, etc. Also, my health insurance premiums continue to increase. Please tell me where to turn.

Answer: We have not seen your premarital agreement, but we assume, based on the advice given by the attorney you consulted, that you had your own lawyer review it before you signed it, that you received a full financial disclosure from your husband, that you were not incapacitated when you signed the document, and that you understood what you were signing. If not, this is an area that should be looked into.

Assuming the premarital agreement is valid, we don’t believe that it would contain a release from you to your husband for passing on to you an incurable sexually transmitted disease. If it does, then this should be addressed, as such a release is invalid.

We believe the response you received from his former wives indicate that your husband may have given them more than engagement rings, then settled with them and had them sign some type of confidentiality agreement.

That said, we suggest you contact an attorney who would be interested in bringing a civil suit against your husband for negligent or willful transmission of a sexual disease. In order to prove your case, you must generally prove that your husband owed you a duty of care, that he breached that duty, that you were damaged, and that the damages were proximately caused by his breach. In addition, you will be required to show that he knew or should have known at the time you and he were intimate that he was capable of transmitting the disease to you. We believe that his former wives may well be your allies. And, based on what you describe, your husband’s physician may have been part of a conspiracy to keep this from you. So he may also be an appropriate defendant.

SoloFact: In today’s society, those considering premarital agreements may wish to consider including physical examinations and representations about sexually transmitted diseases before they sign.