Postnuptial Agreement

Postnuptial Agreement: Plan Your Finances After Marriage

A postnuptial agreement is a written agreement between spouses or civil partners, made after the marriage or civil partnership, that sets out how their assets, debts and finances should be dealt with if they separate. Couples often make one after an inheritance, a new business, a move abroad or a change in their family circumstances. Robot Lawyer drafts the agreement from your answers, for the law of the country or state you choose. On the Verified plan, a legal professional checks it before you sign.

CONTENTS

What Is a Postnuptial Agreement?

A postnuptial agreement does the same job as a prenuptial agreement, but it is made after the wedding or civil partnership ceremony. It records which assets each person wants to keep as their own, how shared assets such as the family home would be divided, how debts would be dealt with and whether either person would pay maintenance.

How much weight the agreement carries depends on where you live. In some countries and US states, a properly made postnuptial agreement is binding. In others, including England and Wales, a court still decides the outcome but will usually uphold an agreement that both people entered freely, with full disclosure and an understanding of what they were signing, as long as it is fair and meets both people's needs and those of any children.

When Do You Need One?

• After an inheritance or gift
  To keep an inheritance, a family property or business shares separate.
• Starting or growing a business
  To protect a business from being divided, or to protect the other spouse from its debts.
• You didn't sign a prenup
  To record the arrangements you would have put in a prenuptial agreement.
• Updating a prenup
  To replace or change an earlier prenuptial agreement after children, a move or a change in finances.
• Reconciliation
  To set clear terms when a couple decides to stay together after difficulties.

What's Included in Your Agreement?

• The parties and the marriage
  Your names, addresses and when and where you married or entered your civil partnership.
• Separate property
  The assets each of you wants to keep as your own, and how income and growth from them are treated.
• Debts and liabilities
  Each person's significant debts and who is responsible for them.
• Shared property and the family home
  How shared assets would be divided if you separate.
• Maintenance
  Whether either of you would pay the other financial support after a separation.
• Children
  Your intentions about the children's financial support, without limiting their rights or a court's powers.
• Disclosure and advice
  Schedules of each person's assets and liabilities, and confirmation of independent legal advice.
• Review
  Whether the agreement is reviewed after major life events, and how disagreements are resolved.

Making Your Agreement Count

The way an agreement is made is often as important as what it says. Courts and the law in most places look for the same things:

• Full financial disclosure
  Each person gives a complete and honest picture of their assets, debts and income.
• Independent legal advice
  Each person takes advice from their own lawyer before signing.
• No pressure
  Both people sign freely, with time to consider the agreement.
• Fairness
  The agreement meets both people's reasonable needs and the needs of any children.
• Formalities
  The agreement is in writing, signed and, where the law requires, witnessed, notarised or certified by each person's lawyer.

Your agreement includes the disclosure schedules, confirmations and signature blocks to support each of these.

How It Works on Robot Lawyer

1. Answer the questions
   Tell us about the two of you, your separate and shared assets, debts, maintenance, children and how disputes should be resolved.
2. Generate your agreement
   We draft a complete agreement with disclosure schedules, under the law you choose.
3. Get it verified
   On the Verified plan, a qualified legal professional checks your agreement within 24 hours and makes amendments where needed. See how our documents are verified.
4. Take advice and sign it
   Each of you takes independent legal advice, then you sign the agreement in the way the law requires.

How It Works in Different Countries

• UK
  In England and Wales, a court isn't bound by a postnuptial agreement but will normally give it decisive weight if it was freely entered into with a full understanding of its effect and is fair. Scotland generally treats properly made agreements as binding unless they were unfair when made, and Northern Ireland follows an approach similar to England and Wales.
• United States
  Most states enforce postnuptial agreements that are in writing, signed voluntarily and made with full financial disclosure, but the rules vary by state and some courts look at them more closely than prenups.
• Ireland
  A court deciding a divorce or judicial separation can take an agreement into account but isn't bound by it, and must make proper provision for both spouses and any children.
• Canada
  Marriage contracts are generally recognised under provincial law if they are in writing, signed and witnessed, and a court can set aside an unfair agreement.
• Australia
  A financial agreement under the Family Law Act 1975 can be made during marriage. It is binding only if each spouse gets independent legal advice and their lawyer signs a certificate.

These notes are general and family law changes. Each of you should take independent legal advice before signing.

Postnuptial Agreement FAQs

Is a postnuptial agreement legally binding?

It depends on the law that applies. In some places it is binding if properly made. In others, including England and Wales, a court makes the final decision but will usually uphold a fair agreement made with full disclosure and advice.

What's the difference between a prenup and a postnup?

A prenup is signed before the marriage or civil partnership and a postnup after it. Both deal with the same issues, and a postnup can update an earlier prenup.

Do we both need a lawyer?

Independent legal advice for each person is strongly recommended, and in some countries it is required for the agreement to be binding. It also makes it much harder for either of you to challenge the agreement later.

Can a postnuptial agreement deal with children?

It can record your intentions about the children's financial support, but it can't limit child support or prevent a court from deciding what is best for the children.

Can we change the agreement later?

Yes. You can review and change it, for example after the birth of a child or a big change in your finances. Any changes should be made in writing and signed by both of you, with the same care as the original.

Can I use this agreement outside the UK?

Yes. Your agreement is drafted under the law of the country or state you choose. Our lawyers are qualified in England and Wales and check documents for good practice, clear formatting and the law of England and Wales. They are not qualified in other countries' law, so if your agreement is governed by another country's law, we recommend having a local lawyer check it too.

Create a Postnuptial Agreement

Agree your finances clearly, while you are on good terms. You can start with a 7-day free trial. See our pricing for the plans. Related documents: Prenuptial Agreement, Cohabitation Agreement, Last Will and Testament and Declaration of Trust.