What these agreements really do
A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed before marriage that decides, in advance, how property and support would be handled if the marriage ends — by divorce or by death. A postnuptial agreement does the same work after the wedding. Far from being documents of distrust, they are most often documents of clarity: protecting a family business, providing for children of a first marriage, keeping an expected inheritance separate, or simply replacing the default rules of Chapter 61 with rules the two of you actually chose.
Florida enforces prenuptial agreements under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, Fla. Stat. § 61.079. An agreement can address property division, alimony, life insurance obligations, estate waivers, and the ownership and management of assets during the marriage. What no agreement can do is bargain away a child's rights: child support, parental responsibility, and time-sharing are always decided under the law at the time, in the child's best interests — a court will not enforce a clause that predetermines them.
What makes a Florida prenup enforceable
- In writing and signed by both parties. No oral prenups; the marriage itself is the only consideration required.
- Voluntary. An agreement produced by fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching fails. The classic red flag is timing — a thick document first presented days before the wedding invites exactly this challenge.
- Fair financial disclosure. An agreement that was unconscionable when signed can be set aside if the challenging spouse didn't receive fair and reasonable disclosure of the other's finances, didn't waive disclosure in writing, and didn't otherwise know the picture. Complete disclosure schedules, attached to the agreement, are the vaccine.
- Independent counsel for each side. Not technically mandatory — but each party having their own lawyer is the single strongest practical protection against a later "I didn't understand what I signed" challenge. Shelley represents one party and does it properly; the other should be represented too.
Postnuptial agreements: same idea, different moment
Couples sign postnups when circumstances change — a business takes off, an inheritance arrives, one spouse steps out of a career to raise children, or a rough patch resolves and both want financial certainty going forward. Florida enforces them under similar principles, with courts watching fairness and disclosure especially closely because spouses owe each other fiduciary-level candor. A postnup is also the honest legal tool for couples who intend to stay married but want their finances ordered — which is much of what people are looking for when they ask about "legal separation" (see separation agreements).
How Shelley approaches them
Drafted early, disclosed fully, negotiated respectfully. An agreement signed months before the wedding, with clean disclosure schedules and both parties counseled, almost defends itself; an ambush prenup poisons both the wedding and its own enforceability. Shelley also reviews agreements you've been asked to sign — quickly if the calendar demands it — and tells you plainly what you'd be giving up compared to Florida's defaults.
Key law: Fla. Stat. § 61.079 (Uniform Premarital Agreement Act); ch. 61 default rules the agreement replaces (§§ 61.075, 61.08).
Common questions about marital agreements
No — they're for anyone with something specific to protect or clarify: a small business, a home owned before the marriage, children from a prior relationship, expected family gifts, or even debt separation. Modest estates arguably benefit more, because they can least afford litigation over ambiguity.
Months before the wedding, not weeks. Early drafting leaves room for real negotiation and independent review — and it removes the duress argument that last-minute agreements hand to a future challenger. If the wedding is close, a postnup after the honeymoon is sometimes the cleaner path than a rushed prenup.
No. Children's issues belong to the court at the time they arise, under the best-interests standard and the support guidelines. A clause purporting to fix them in advance is unenforceable — and including one can cast a shadow over the drafting of everything else.
Not before independent review. You need to know what Florida's default rules would give you and what the draft takes away — sometimes the honest answer is "this is fair," sometimes it's "this needs three changes," and either way the review protects both of you, because an agreement signed with counsel on both sides is far harder to unwind later.
Yes — after the marriage, a premarital agreement can be amended, revoked, or abandoned by a written agreement signed by both spouses. Life changes; good agreements get revisited. What you can't do is change it unilaterally or orally, no matter how mutual the understanding felt at the time.
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