How We Review Your Prenuptial Or Postnuptial Agreement With You
Your fiancé or spouse’s lawyer has provided you with a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement, and it is a behemoth. It is common for these documents to be 30 to 60 pages of dense “legalese,” sometimes with hundreds or thousands of pages of additional financial disclosure. Don’t just sign the agreement without understanding it! It can have a significant impact on your rights in the event of divorce or the death of your spouse. Further, these documents are rarely “take it or leave it,” and you can negotiate terms that address your needs.
This post discusses how we review and negotiate prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements for our clients.
Step 1 – Explore Interests
Our first step is to learn why the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is being pursued. Common reasons include the following: (i) to protect inheritances and premarital assets; (ii) to protect family or private businesses; (iii) to avoid the trauma experienced in a previous divorce; (iv) to ensure children from a prior relationship are taken care of; (v) to have difficult and necessary discussions on finances so the fiancés or spouses can focus on strengthening their relationship; or (vi) to aid in estate planning. During this step, we also learn what is important to you, such as financial transparency, security, and/or independence. We may also determine whether it makes sense to enter into a Collaborative Process or if you need the support of a financial planner, accountant, or other professional.
Step 2 – Financial Disclosure
Most prenuptial or postnuptial agreements will require you to provide a certain amount (many times extensive) financial information and/or documents. Our staff will work with you to gather, organize, redact, and formally exchange your financial disclosure.
Step 3 – Annotate Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreement
Next, we annotate the agreement and provide you with the annotation. This is just a fancy way of saying that we review and create a bunch of notes on the agreement. Our notes do the following: (i) explain the agreement in plain English; (ii) compare and contrast the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement with what would happen under default Florida law without the agreement; and (iii) provide alternative options and/or suggested changes.
Step 4 – Meet with You to Review Annotation
Fourth, we will typically meet (usually over Zoom) to review our notes with you. During this time, we will answer any questions and determine what revisions, if any, we will propose to your fiancé or spouse’s lawyer. The most important reason for this meeting is to ensure that you understand the agreement and your options.
Step 5 – Negotiate Agreement
Based on the meeting we have with you, we will begin negotiating the terms of the agreement, keeping in mind the interests that we explored in Step 1. This negotiation may include conversations with your fiancé or spouse’s lawyer and sending draft proposals back and forth. Sometimes, as part of the negotiations, we may schedule one or more meetings (this may be by Zoom) between you, your fiancé/spouse, and both lawyers. Regardless of the manner of the negotiations, we will be in communication with you so you know the status of the agreement.
Step 6 – Signing Meeting
Typically, once we have finalized the terms of the agreement, we all get together (oftentimes by Zoom) for a signing meeting. The meeting will usually be documented by a stenographer, videographer, and/or Zoom recording. This is not just for ceremonial purposes. We lawyers will ask you and your fiancé or spouse a series of questions to confirm that you understand and accept the agreement, are not under the influence of any substance that would impair your ability to enter into a valid agreement, and are not signing it due to duress or coercion. We will prepare you ahead of time with the types of questions you can expect to answer.
Conclusion
Receiving a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can be daunting. As the agreement will likely have significant impact on your long-term rights, you should not just sign the agreement without understanding it. We are here to help you navigate the agreement and get this phase behind you so that you can concentrate on your wedding and/or having a long-lasting and durable marriage.
To get things started, we invite you to reach out to us.
Family Diplomacy: A Collaborative Law Firm is a bespoke firm that focuses on helping our clients navigate complex family law matters. We represent clients throughout Florida, and we have offices in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota.
