What a Prenuptial Agreement Does and Doesn’t Cover
Covers
A prenuptial agreement can cover just about anything.
- Property division and asset ownership
- Protection of premarital wealth
- Rules for managing shared vs. separate property
- Debt responsibility and liability
- Safeguards for business interests
- Handling of retirement funds or future income expectations
- Ensuring that the rules are clear regarding inheritances that either of you may receive during the marriage
Doesn’t Cover
The reality is that prenuptial agreements can cover almost anything. However, there are some limits.
- A prenuptial agreement cannot require someone to perform an illegal act
- A prenuptial agreement does not create a parenting plan for children, especially ones who have not been born yet (plus a judge has the final say over the best interests of the children)
- A prenuptial agreement cannot waive child support
Misconceptions
- They are only for wealthy individuals. Prenups can be invaluable for couples who have not yet started their strongest earnings years to create rules and expectations ahead of time as to how they will navigate that time and divide responsibilities.
- They damage trust between partners. In fact, a good prenuptial agreement process should strengthen trust between partners. While it is true that the discussions can be difficult topics, if you are marrying someone, you should be able to have these difficult conversations. If you cannot, that is probably a red flag.
- They are unnecessary if both partners “agree verbally.” While a verbal agreement (i.e., a discussion) can help partners understand each other’s expectations better, it does not create any binding rules the way a prenuptial agreement will.
- They are difficult to enforce in Florida. So long as the proper process is followed for disclosing information, negotiating the agreement, reviewing the agreement, and executing the agreement, absent illegal terms, prenuptial agreements are usually enforced in Florida.
- They cannot protect personal or family property. Prenuptial agreements absolutely can protect personal or family property. If you have a concern that an inheritance or family trust will become marital property, a prenuptial agreement is an ideal way to clarify otherwise.
Benefits of Having a Prenuptial Agreement in Central Florida
Prenuptial agreements are typically predicated on financial disclosure between spouses, meaning you each will have a complete picture of the other’s finances. This means no surprise debts or secret bank accounts.
Protection Against Unexpected Events
Unlike most couples who go into marriage without any understanding as to how marital property is created, what that means during the marriage and during divorce, a prenuptial agreement ensures no one is surprised during the marriage, or during a divorce, by how everything works.
Peace of Mind for Both Partners
Prenuptial agreements remove uncertainty going into a marriage. Instead of a couple burying their head in the sand and hoping it all works out, a well-crafted prenuptial agreement, with a proper process in place, can provide a couple with confidence built through the clear, written agreement they created together.
Who Should Consider a Florida Prenuptial Agreement
- Individuals with real estate or investment portfolios. It is important to make it clear that these assets are intended to stay non-marital; otherwise, it is entirely possible to inadvertently turn a non-marital asset into a marital asset. This is very common.
- Professionals with high earning potential. If there is high earning potential for one or both spouses, it is important to discuss how that will be handled during the marriage.
- Entrepreneurs and business partners. Many businesses will require a co-owner to sign a prenuptial agreement before getting married in order to prevent the new spouse from obtaining control over some or all of the business through a divorce later on.
- Parents with assets intended for children.
- Couples entering marriage at different financial stages.
Requirements for a Valid Prenuptial Agreement in Florida
A prenuptial agreement must be voluntary and signed willingly. Typically, the fact that a prenuptial agreement was signed will be evidence that it was voluntarily entered into. While complete financial disclosure is not a technical requirement for a prenuptial agreement, it is strongly recommended in order to ensure that it remains enforceable.
A prenuptial agreement must be in writing. There is no such thing as a verbal prenup. It must be signed before the marriage. Once a couple is married, they can still enter into a marital agreement, but it will be in the form of a postnuptial agreement, not a prenuptial agreement. The terms of a prenup cannot violate Florida public policy. While this is a pretty uncommon occurrence in modern times, a prenuptial agreement that includes terms that are against public policy in Florida will not be enforced.
A valid prenuptial agreement will have provided both partners the opportunity for independent legal counsel, but it is technically not a requirement that both obtain their own independent legal counsel to be enforceable.
How Artemis Family Law Can Assist You
We will tailor the agreement to your personal circumstances and financial goals.
Drafting Customized Legal Terms
There are many types of prenuptial agreements that cover many different issues in many different wants. We will create clauses that accurately reflect your wishes; no more and no less
Reviewing the Agreement With You
Our primary job is ensuring you understand the implications of the prenuptial agreement before signing. This means we go over the draft of the document line by line, page by page, until everything has been explained and is understood adequately. Nothing should just be legalese to you that you are hoping says what you want it to say.
Coordinating with Your Partner’s Attorney
While the process of drafting a prenuptial agreement takes time, with each partner and their attorney needing time to read, review, and revise, we will streamline the review process to the best of our ability to avoid delays.
When to Start the Prenuptial Agreement Process
It is important that the prenuptial agreement is signed before the wedding. The prenuptial agreement “sweet spot” for signing is usually between 2 and 4 weeks before the wedding. Any sooner and it could appear to be too rushed or pressured to be valid later.
A last-minute agreement is going to be much more susceptible to legal attack later on versus one signed weeks before the wedding. That said, it is still context specific and a prenup is not automatically invalid because it was signed close to the wedding.
Early preparation of the draft agreement helps reduce stress because it allows adequate time to sit with it, think about questions, and have challenging conversations with your partner about certain terms or expectations.
What to Bring to Your Prenuptial Agreement Consultation
- List of current assets and liabilities
- Documentation of income sources
- Business ownership or partnership records
- Retirement accounts or investment summaries
- Future financial goals to be addressed
Schedule a Prenup Consultation
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Frequently Asked Questions
Our Wedding Is Coming Up But I Want My Fiancé To Sign A Prenup Before Then. Will The Prenup Be Enforceable?
The short answer – It depends. One of the requirements for a valid prenuptial agreement is that it is signed voluntarily without any coercion or duress. If your wedding is happening, for example, in one week, it might be argued that because the wedding date was so close to when the prenuptial agreement was signed, your fiancé felt pressure to sign it and felt he or she had no other option because the wedding would not happen unless they did sign. Best practices are to have the prenuptial agreement drafted, financial disclosure exchanged, and execution occur sometime before the actual wedding (generally, a month before the wedding is the absolute minimum time).
How Much Of My Finances Do I Have To Disclose?
The short answer – Everything. Again, the main thing you want from a prenuptial agreement is that it will be enforceable should a subsequent divorce occur. The exchange of complete and accurate financial information is necessary to show that each party has knowledge of the other party’s finances so that they can voluntarily and intelligently enter into an agreement which may include giving up on some rights that finances would affect.
Should you fail to disclose something, one party might try and declare the prenuptial agreement invalid because they would have never signed it if they had known about this particular detail. However, the couple could agree within the prenuptial agreement that they are aware of each other’s financial situation and limit the financial disclosure to be provided.
My Fiancé Said He Will Sign Whatever I Want. Can One Attorney Work With Both Of Us?
The short answer – No. Your attorney only works for you. They cannot provide any legal advice to your fiancé. Your fiancé does not need to have their own attorney, but it is highly advisable that they do. By having their own attorney to advocate for them and review the prenuptial agreement in detail with them (and, if applicable, in their primary language), reinforces that your fiancé understood the provisions in the prenuptial agreement and signed it voluntarily. This, in turn, strengthens the prenuptial agreement’s enforceability.
