Protecting your money both before and after tying the knot is essential, but its often neglected. A 2024 Law Depot survey found that only 15% of married couples have prenuptial agreements in place. Of those who don’t, 29% regret not signing one, highlighting a sense of missed opportunity or a desire for greater financial clarity.
The good news is that you’ll be able to take action any time after the wedding. Postnuptial agreements — or postnups for short — provide a similar level of legal protection as the agreements you make before marriage.
Should you pursue a postnup? If you prefer to make financial decisions when the two of you are in a positive state of mind rather than when you’re distressed, the answer may be yes.
What Is a Postnuptial Agreement?
A postnup is a legally binding contract that restructures marital property rights. It is your opportunity to determine how assets and liabilities will be handled in the event of divorce or death.
You and your spouse may outline how property will be divided, inheritance distributed and business ownership and management will play out, as well as clarify debt responsibilities. It may also include details regarding spousal support.
Interest in postnups is rising, says Chad Cummings, certified public accountant and attorney at Cummings & Cummings Law, located in Bonita Springs, Florida. According to his research and conversations with other practitioners, inquiries and executions of postnups have increased by approximately 30% between 2022 and 2025.
Because postnups are legal documents that hold up in court, Cummings cautions against relying on financial advisors or other providers to draft one. Doing so can put the agreement at risk of invalidation and prompt legal consequences. Only licensed attorneys can draft them.
The terms of the agreement must be fair, and both parties must sign with full knowledge and acceptance. In some states, each spouse is required to have their own legal counsel, but even when it’s not mandatory, having separate lawyers is highly recommended.
[Read: Financial Steps to Take Before, During and After Your Divorce.]
Postnuptial Agreements vs. Prenuptial Agreements
“Basically, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements are the same document,” Cummings says. “But there is one major caveat — financial disclosures. With a prenup, you can have very minimal financial disclosures with either spouse. You can get away with not having them at all. However, with a postnup, you will have very detailed financial disclosures, exchanging information like banking and brokerage accounts.”
Therefore, when creating a postnuptial agreement, ensuring complete and accurate information is crucial to the process. If assets and liabilities aren’t properly disclosed, the contract can be nullified.
Postnups, like prenups, can be challenged in court: for example, if one spouse finds that the other did not disclose an account, or later claims that they were forced to sign under duress. But if that happens, that person will be responsible for proving that the agreement is invalid.
Reasons to Get a Postnuptial Agreement
Maintaining control over your finances in the event of divorce is a key reason why you may want to consider a postnuptial agreement.
Brian Mayer, senior counsel at Schoenberg Family Law Group in San Francisco, says that if marital partners disagree about how their divorce should be handled, the law will decide it for them.
“A postnuptial agreement makes sense anytime a couple concludes that they would rather decide their outcome in a divorce than leave that decision to the state,” Mayer says. “We have laws, and they decide what happens, but one size does not fit all.”
Therefore, if you do break up without a legal agreement, state law goes into effect and will determine what happens with marital property, spousal support and financial obligations.
In Mayer’s experience, the most common area of disagreement is spousal support. “State law can run afoul of what people want,” he says. “It doesn’t work for a lot of people.”
Payouts may be more or less and longer or shorter than either of you want. But with a postnup, you can decide on the amount and duration of the support or even waive it completely.
When both parties enter the marriage with very little, these documents may not make much sense. However, if a financial imbalance emerges, a postnuptial agreement (postnup) may be in order.
“We typically see postnups when things have changed,” Mayer says. “For example, the business takes off and now one spouse has all this income. If they divorce and the other person can’t buy the other out, it can result in the dissolution of the business. A postnup allows them to engineer an outcome for the business to be preserved.”
What it doesn’t do, Cummings says, is affect child support or visitation. “For prenups and postnups, I put in big bold letters, ‘nothing in this document is about children.'”
[READ: Hidden Costs of Divorce: Learn How to Prepare for Them]
Postnups Can Help With Probate and Beneficiaries
Although you can form a postnuptial agreement (postnup) at any time during the marriage, Cummings believes it’s better to do so when both parties are on good terms. The agreement can smooth out individual inheritance wishes.
“Postnups can be great for older couples because they can save on probate,” he says. “It integrates with estate planning.”
If either of you has children from prior relationships, it can be a way to pass assets to them.
“The agreement spells out that in the event of divorce, the inherited money goes back to the beneficiary,” certified matrimonial attorney Tanya N. Helfand, partner at Schenck, Price, Smith & King LLP, located in Florham Park, New Jersey, said in an email interview.
“If someone receives a midmarriage inheritance and wants to invest the funds into a joint asset such as a vacation home, a postnup now can avoid complexities later,” Helfand said. “If this isn’t clarified with an agreement, it is quite possible in the event of divorce that the funds would be split.”
[Read: Estate Planning Tips to Keep Your Money in the Family.]
Postnups Can Alleviate Debt Concerns
Outstanding loans and pressing credit card bills are common relationship stressors. Debt is often cited as a reason couples break up in the first place.
If disagreements about financial obligations are leading you to divorce court, know that the way they are divided depends on state law and the court. “A postnup allows a spouse to clarify exceptions to the general rule,” Mayer says.
For instance, if your spouse wants to take a high financial risk, such as borrowing a huge sum of money to open a coffee shop, the debt may be split evenly between you. A postnuptial agreement that assigns responsibility can protect you if you weren’t exactly enthused about the idea.
“You put all the accounts, such as separate credit cards and joint debt in the postnup,” Cummings says. It allows you to assign responsibility for both existing and future debt, which can stave off liability fears and even help you avoid arguments.
How to Get a Postnup
To draft a postnuptial agreement, you’ll want to work with an attorney who specializes in family law. You can find someone close to you via state or local bar associations and lawyer referral services, or use online directories such as Avvo or FindLaw.
Attorneys typically charge clients by the hour for drafting and executing a postnuptial agreement. The final cost will depend on the complexity of your case and your geographical location. In general, though, expect the lowest price of a postnup to be around a thousand dollars, but can escalate from there.
Once you decide on an attorney, prepare to provide a complete list of all of your assets and liabilities and discuss your goals and concerns. After the prenup is created and agreed upon, you and your spouse will sign it. In some states, a witness must be present, or the agreement must be notarized.
Keep the document in a safe place. You may want to revisit it every year or so to ensure it accurately reflects your current situation. If it doesn’t, you can modify the terms.
Just be aware that even in the best of circumstances, entering a postnup discussion with your partner can be an emotional experience.
“Fears and issues come up for both parties,” Helfand said. “At the same time, a properly negotiated fair agreement after honest discussion and consideration and clear advice of counsel is a great tool for couples to understand feelings and concerns of the other party, which I believe can bring them closer.”
And if your marriage does end? A postnup can offset unnecessary fighting and the excessive costs often involved in contentious divorce proceedings.
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Do You Need a Postnuptial Agreement? originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 07/23/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
