Postmarital Agreements

Setting Up A Prenup After Your’re Married

A postmarital agreement (or “postnuptial”) is simply a prenuptial agreement that’s executed after the wedding has taken place.

While there’s not extensive case law to govern this type of agreement, the courts tend to rely on the same rules and guidelines that apply to a premarital agreement. Alimony may or may not be able to be addressed (depending upon your state) and other issues such as life insurance and property division can be included.

Like its prenuptial counterpart, a postmarital agreement must also be fair and both parties must have disclosed information regarding assets, liabilities and other financial aspects .

It should also be noted that many courts question the reasoning behind such an agreement when it is drafted after the marriage has taken place. This scrutiny suggests that couples should take extra care to outline the reasons for the postmarital agreement and that all issues are properly addressed.  The most commonly accepted reasons include extreme changes in your financial situation and new life plans such as an agreement to put each other through college. As with prenups, a postmarital agreement cannot make any stipulations regarding child support .

A postmarital agreement must be executed by both parties voluntarily and will not be valid if one of the parties is under duress or coerced in any way.