Prenuptial Agreement Lawyer in Florida

What’s the Purpose of a Prenuptial Agreement?

A prenup is a contract between both spouses that is entered into before marriage that determines what will happen to assets and income should both spouses get a divorce.

A prenup that is well drafted, made in good faith, and free from fraud, deceit, coercion, or trickery, will usually be upheld here in Florida and can help spouses do the following:

• Determines whether one spouse will have to pay alimony (monthly income payments) to the other spouse.
• Protects your business.
• Protects your home or rental properties.
• Protects your pension and retirement accounts.
• Protects commingled assets.
• Protects your inherited assets.
• Protects inheritance rights of your children and grandchildren from previous marriages.
• Determines what happens to assets if one spouse dies during the marriage.
• Determines how assets acquired during marriage are split if there is a divorce.

What Makes a Prenup Valid and Enforceable in Florida?

In order for a prenuptial agreement to be valid in Florida, there must be a full and frank disclosure of each spouse’s assets and income. Now this doesn’t mean every dollar needs to be accounted for in the prenup, but it does mean that there should not be any sort of concealment or absence of disclosure.

Additionally, a valid prenup in Florida requires that there not be any fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, misrepresentation, or overreaching by either spouse. This often means that each spouse should have their own attorney who reviews the prenuptial agreement with them, and that both spouses have plenty of time to review and sign the prenup before the wedding day.

There are examples of court cases here in Florida where one spouse will force the other spouse to sign a prenup the day before or the day of the wedding — this is a recipe for disaster and may cause the prenup to be invalid here in Florida. Both spouses must have an adequate amount of time to review the prenup before the wedding.

The prenup should also be well drafted by a prenup lawyer. Prenups must meet certain requirements in Florida to be legally enforceable. Simply using online prenup forms or using attorneys who are not prenup lawyers is a recipe for disaster for such an important document.

Should I Get a Prenup if I’m Getting Married in Florida?

Most people never want to enter marriage thinking about divorce. However, divorce is still statistically very common in the United States and can cause serious financial harm to one or more of the spouses.

A well drafted Florida prenup by a prenup lawyer can provide peace of mind to both spouses that if a divorce does occur, many of the tough and difficult decisions have already been made regarding the division assets and income. Thus, the divorce can be handled much more amicably, not drag on for months, and save both spouses thousands in attorney’s fees.

We also tell clients that prenups can be torn up at any time. It’s very common for couples to enter into a prenup, be married for years (or decades), and then decide that a prenup is no longer what they want. Couples can then decide just to tear up the prenup and the prenup will no longer apply.

If you and your partner are considering a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, or if you need guidance on whether one is right for you, the skilled prenup lawyers at Daily, Montfort & Toups can help you.

We are a Veteran owned law firm and have offices in Sarasota, Venice, St. Petersburg, Osprey, and Clearwater, Florida. You can schedule your free consultation today.