Marital Agreement
Advanced Legal Documents
Postnuptial Agreement
Agree during your marriage what is separate, what is shared, and what happens if it ends — with the disclosure and independent advice that make it hold.
Also called: agreement after marriage, postnuptial vs prenuptial, marital property agreement.
What you walk away with
A clean multi-page PDF and DOCX after you finish — not a web-form dump. Preview the document before you pay.
- PDF export
- DOCX export
- E-sign included
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Postnuptial agreements are governed by state law and treated less uniformly than prenuptial ones: some states apply heightened scrutiny, some impose additional formalities, and a few limit what may be agreed. This document states no jurisdiction-specific requirement.
Jurisdiction details
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When this fits
Use this document when…
- You meant to sign a prenup and the wedding arrived first
- One spouse has started a business, received an inheritance, or taken on significant debt
- Reconciling after a separation and wanting terms settled
- A change in circumstances that makes the default rules a poor fit
Before you start
Information you will need
- Both spouses' details and the date of marriage
- A full list of each spouse's assets, debts, and income for the disclosure schedules
- Whether each spouse had independent counsel, or knowingly declined it
- What is separate property and how marital property is defined
- How income, appreciation, and jointly acquired assets are treated
- Any spousal support terms, and what happens on death or divorce
- The governing state
What you receive
- A Postnuptial Agreement with separate and marital property provisions
- Full financial disclosure schedules for both spouses
- Signature blocks with notary acknowledgment
- Completion and signing instructions
- PDF and editable DOCX export
Document questions
Questions about this document
What is a Postnuptial Agreement?
Agree during your marriage what is separate, what is shared, and what happens if it ends — with the disclosure and independent advice that make it hold.
How do I create a Postnuptial Agreement?
You meant to sign a prenup and the wedding arrived first; One spouse has started a business, received an inheritance, or taken on significant debt; Reconciling after a separation and wanting terms settled
What should a Postnuptial Agreement include?
Both spouses' details and the date of marriage; A full list of each spouse's assets, debts, and income for the disclosure schedules; Whether each spouse had independent counsel, or knowingly declined it; What is separate property and how marital property is defined; How income, appreciation, and jointly acquired assets are treated
Special situations
- Courts scrutinise postnuptial agreements more closely than prenuptial ones. Once married, spouses owe each other duties of good faith, so an agreement between them is examined harder than one signed before the marriage existed.
- A few states are openly hostile to postnuptial agreements or apply extra requirements. Confirm the position where you live before relying on one.
- Independent counsel matters more here, not less. One lawyer cannot represent both spouses, and the absence of separate advice is a common ground for challenge.
- Full disclosure is the foundation. An omitted asset can void the agreement, usually to the disadvantage of the spouse relying on it.
- Child support and custody cannot be predetermined by agreement, and a provision attempting it can be disregarded.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a prenup?
The substance is similar; the timing and the scrutiny are not. A prenuptial agreement is signed before marriage, when the parties are still legal strangers. A postnuptial is signed after, when spouses already owe each other duties — which is why courts look at these more carefully.
Are postnuptial agreements enforceable?
Generally yes, but with more conditions than a prenup and with real variation between states. Independent counsel, full disclosure, and terms that are not grossly one-sided all matter more here than they would before marriage.
Do we both need our own lawyer?
Yes, more so than with a prenup. One lawyer cannot represent both spouses, and where one spouse had advice and the other did not, that imbalance is often the first thing raised in a challenge.
Can we use this to plan for divorce?
You can agree in advance how property and support would be handled, which is what most of this document does. What you cannot do is decide child custody or child support in advance, and in some states an agreement seen as encouraging divorce may be treated differently.
What if one of us hides an asset?
The agreement is at risk. Full and fair disclosure is what makes it enforceable, and a material omission can void it — normally against the interests of whoever wanted the agreement to hold.
We are reconciling after separating. Is this the right document?
Often yes, and it is one of the most common reasons couples sign one. Settling the financial terms of the reconciliation in writing is exactly what a postnuptial agreement is for.
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Locke Direct helps structure documents and workflows. It does not replace a qualified lawyer for complex, unusual, or high-risk situations.
Last reviewed July 29, 2026.