<prompt> Human: Back story: almost 31 years old with an 11 year old son. Had a horrible relationship 5 years ago that destroyed my finances and savings. I am a mechanical engineer with a base salary of 92kyr. additional income from side work designing, 3D modeling, and performing CFD and FEA analysis which earns an extra 8-15k a year not reported. My son and I also got into breeding exotic boas snakes two years ago. Our first clutch is due in march and we expect roughly 20-30k from them depending on what we get.That being said, I have been in a steady open relationship for 3 years. We are talking about marriage. Ive never been married before and after the last relationship honestly never intended to. With my son going to college in only a few years I can not afford another financial set back. So hear it goes! How the heck do I protect myself financially without a prenup?she has openly stated her disgust towards them .I have looked into LLCs as well as other various laws in California where we live. Does anyone have any experience with this situation or can make any recommendations? Truth be told if I dont find a comfortable solution I cant put myself at risk. Do I trust her ? Yes I do. But unfortunately Ive learned no matter how much you trust someone now you may not years down the road.Edit: I own my own home, no car loan debt, one credit card with zero balance. 401k at work contribute 7 with matching up to 5, with Roth IRA and some stocks I trade for fun less than 5k. Sons college fund has 17k not enough. Only became debt free about 3 months ago. I travel regularly so we save a lot of money. Savings is currently about 22k liquid assets. I will be increasing my contributions to 401k to 10 in January. I will get hit hard with taxs this year but is offset my cash income from designing and snakes.  <response>: Her being disgusted with the idea of a prenup is all well and good, but you have more to worry about than just yourself. If she has trouble understanding that your son needs some form of protection, then you may have a relationship issue that needs to be addressed. 