Massapequa, NY Prenuptial Agreement Attorneys

What a New York Court Checks Before Enforcing a Prenup

A prenuptial agreement is a contract, and New York holds it to formal rules. Our Massapequa prenuptial agreement attorneys review each of the following issues before you sign, because each one can decide whether a court enforces the agreement years from now.

• Signing formalities. Under Domestic Relations Law Section 236(B)(3), the agreement must be in writing, signed by both partners, and acknowledged in the manner required to record a deed. A missing or defective acknowledgment can leave the entire agreement unenforceable, even when both signatures are genuine.
• Full financial disclosure. Each partner should exchange tax returns, account statements, business records, and a list of debts before signing. Attaching a schedule of assets to the agreement creates a lasting record of what each partner disclosed. Incomplete disclosure is a frequent basis for challenging an agreement once a divorce begins.
• Separate property and its growth. Without an agreement, New York divides marital property under equitable distribution rules, which aim for a fair division that is not always an equal one. A prenup can keep a home owned before the marriage, an inheritance, or a business interest separate, and it can address any increase in that asset's value during the marriage.
• Maintenance terms. A prenup can set or limit spousal maintenance. The statute requires those terms to be fair and reasonable when signed and not unconscionable when a divorce judgment is entered. We explain how any proposed cap or waiver compares with the maintenance a court might otherwise award.
• Terms involving children. Provisions about custody or child support remain subject to court review based on the children's needs at the time of any divorce.

Massapequa is a hamlet within the Town of Oyster Bay, so if a marriage here ends in divorce, the agreement is typically reviewed in Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola. We draft every clause, and the acknowledgment page itself, with that future review in mind.