Postmarital Agreements

Postmarital agreements or postnupital agreements are agreements entered into after a marriage has taken place, but before the parties seek to end their marriage. As with premarital agreements, one or both of the parties usually is seeking to protect assets or income in the event of divorce or death. A married couple may seek to enter into a postmarital agreement after a significant financial change or a period of marital conflict.

The law regarding the validity and enforcement of postmarital agreements is not well developed. The standard for enforcement of postmarital agreements most likely is similar to the standards discussed earlier for enforcement of premarital agreements. Key criteria for validity of the agreements include: full disclosure of assets and financial obligations, absence of duress, and fairness.

When a members of a couple are married (instead of just contemplating marriage), they may be held to a very high standard of fairness when dealing with each other on financial issues--perhaps a higher standard than would be the case if they were entering into a premarital agreement.