Marital Agreements FAQ
A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed by spouses in advance of marriage that sets brightline rules on how separate property and marital property should be defined. A prenuptial agreement also allows the spouses to negotiate alimony (called maintenance in New York), ownership of family businesses, and modifying the mandatory share to which a surviving spouse is entitled.
Courts avoid personal issues in a marriage such as division of household chores, frequency of sexual relations, or infidelity. Further, spouses may not include clauses that promote divorce, illegal agreements or decisions concerning child support and custody.
A valid prenuptial agreement requires complete disclosure of all assets and liabilities at the time it is signed. Both parties should retain independent counsel in order to make sure that each party's legal objectives are followed. The prenuptial agreement should be signed well in advance of the wedding date and its terms must not be unconscionable so that it might be challenged by either spouse or overturned by a court in the future.
A postnuptial agreement is executed after marriage. In most marriages, financial circumstances, roles and relationships change which sometimes requires the spouses to renegotiate the terms of the marriage. Parties might sign a postnuptial agreement if one spouse receives a large inheritance or both spouses wish to relax the rules of a prenuptial agreement. Another reason might be when there has been a loss of trust in a relationship due to infidelity or other problems created by either spouse.