If you and your spouse didn’t sign up to get a prenuptial agreement but now that you’re married and you’ve changed your mind, you may now want to get a postnuptial agreement. A postnuptial agreement is a document that instructs a married couple on how they will divide their assets when they get divorced. For you to agree on getting a postnuptial agreement, you must have a heavy reason on why you should get one in the first place, especially if you don’t have any children or you’re not planning to have any. However, if you have children, a postnuptial agreement is a practical thing to do to ensure that your children will be protected in the event when a bitter divorce might happen. This article will teach you how to create a postnuptial financial agreement.

Postnuptial Financial Agreement

5+ Postnuptial Financial Agreement Samples

1. Postnuptial Financial Agreement Template

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2. Postnuptial Financial Agreement

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3. Postnuptial and Prenuptial Financial Agreement

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4. Professional Postnuptial Financial Agreement

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5. Drafting Postnuptial Financial Agreement

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6. Financial Postnuptial Agreement

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What Is a Postnuptial Agreement?

A postnuptial agreement, also known as post-marital agreement or simply postnup,  is a written legal contract created and signed by married couples after entering into a marriage. The agreement outlines the ownership of financial assets, properties, responsibilities for their children (if they have any) if ever they get a divorce. It is the opposite of a prenuptial agreement which is created and signed before the couples get married.

How to Make a Postnuptial Financial Agreement

Below are the common provisions included in postnuptial agreements:

  1. Assets division: The agreement should outline what will happen to the couples’ individual and joint assets and properties and how they will be handled if they ever get separated or divorced.
  2. Debts: If the married couple has assets, they also gain debts too. They should also state how they will divide their debts after the dissolution of their marriage.
  3. Spousal Support: If a couple agrees that one of them deserves any type of spousal support, don’t forget to include that in the agreement as well.
  4. Asset Distribution After Death: The agreement can also include an outline of how the assets of the couples will be handled if ever one person in the marriage passes away while they are married to each other. The agreement can contain instructions on what happens to their assets depending on if the couple was considering divorce or in the middle of divorce proceedings when one passed away. This type of provision takes the place of the last will and testament.

FAQs

What reasons that postnuptial agreements are made?

These are the common reasons why postnuptial agreements are made by couples:

  1.  Protect an inheritance: If ever one of the spouses expects a large inheritance from their relatives or parents, some couples want to work out who’s entitled to the money if ever they should split. This agreement is especially useful in community property states where assets acquired during their marriage are split equally between the spouses.

  2. Provide financial assistance for stay-at-home parents: A stay-at-home parent is not earning as much income compared to the main breadwinner of the family, especially if they are unemployed. With their earning power is not prioritize currently, this is a useful agreement to fairly divide their assets.

  3. Repay gifts: If ever one of the spouse’s parents provided a substantial amount of money for the married couple to help start their new life together, the agreement can provide the in-laws that they’ll be reimbursed if the relationship doesn’t last. 

  4. Wealthy couples: Since wealthy people have significant assets way before they got married to each other and even get more significant joint assets when they got married, the agreement ensures that each spouse will get an equal share of the assets in the event of a divorce.

  5. You or your spouse or both of you own a business: A postnup agreement can also protect the business of a company that each spouse or both spouses own. Their share of the percentage of the ownership of the business is equally divided through the postnup agreement.

What is needed to make a postnuptial agreement valid?

To ensure that the postnuptial agreement is valid and enforceable, it must have the following requirements:

  • Written: The postnuptial agreement is in writing since oral agreements are not considered valid.
  • Voluntary: Both spouses must be sure that they signed the agreement willingly and voluntarily. If the court finds out that one spouse is coerced into signing the agreement, they will make it null and void.
  • Disclosure: Full and fair disclosure must be done by each party whenever they state all assets, liabilities, and income they have. It’s important for both spouses to be transparent about what they have in order to fairly distribute and handle their assets. If the information they give in the agreement is not accurate or complete, the agreement will fail to be enforceable.
  • Fair: The agreement must make sure it is not one-sided and unjust to the other party. Each party must have a fair share of the agreement. Otherwise, the agreement will also not be enforceable.
  • Validly executed: Lastly, the postnuptial agreement should meet the requirements of the laws of the state where the spouses are residing.

Once you’re done drafting the agreement, make sure to review it first to see if there are any errors or inaccurate information that you or your spouse has input. Make sure that both of you are satisfied with the terms of your agreement and that you followed your state’s laws regarding making a postnuptial agreement. To make sure everything is smooth sailing, let an attorney review your agreement.  To help you get started making the agreement, download our free sample templates above to use as your guide!

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