A prenuptial agreement, or, as it is referred to in the Florida Legislature’s Statutes, a premarital agreement, is the contract that you and your spouse agree upon and file with the courts prior to the legal union of marriage. It outlines the rights to any property brought into the marriage as well as the division and rights to assets that each of you may acquire while married.
In addition to stating the level of control of assets during marriage, prenuptial agreements can outline what happens to property upon death as well as who will receive the rights to death benefits from insurance payouts. You can also include information about wills or trusts in the contract.
Prenuptial agreements can also help minimize questions of who receives what in the case of a separation or divorce. This may include asset division, alimony or spousal support parameters, and even list out actions that can result in the elimination of support altogether, such as adultery or abandonment.
You can include expectations of certain behaviors or rights within the marriage, as long as they do not violate legal or public policy.
You and your spouse can make agreement modifications and even dissolve the contract after the marriage has begun, assuming both of you are in agreement. However, the current version on file goes into effect as soon as you enter into the marriage.
While prenuptial agreements can include information pertaining to spousal rights, they cannot affect the legal rights to child support.
The courts can deem prenuptial agreements void in cases where the marriage is not legally recognized or if you or your spouse signs under duress. Other ways they can be voided include situations where one of you have been given fraudulent or misleading financial information or there was improper disclosure of pertinent facts relating to the other person’s obligations or assets.
Any information provided in this post is to serve solely for educational purposes and should not be mistaken as legal advice.