Marriage and money are deeply personal topics. When couples start talking about a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, the conversation often brings up questions about trust, planning, and what happens if life does not unfold the way either person expected. That can make these agreements feel intimidating, even though they are really legal contracts shaped by state law and a court’s view of fairness.
In the United States, marriage and divorce remain common legal realities. The CDC reports more than 2 million marriages and more than 672,000 divorces in provisional 2023 data from reporting jurisdictions, which helps explain why marital agreements continue to be part of mainstream family-law planning rather than a niche topic alone (CDC FastStats). Against that backdrop, prenups and postnups are often used to define financial expectations, protect separate property, address business interests, and reduce uncertainty if a marriage later ends.
This article is part of a broader family law overview. In this post, you’ll learn what prenups and postnups are, how courts often evaluate enforceability, why financial disclosure matters so much, what “fairness” usually looks like in practice, and how these agreements are challenged or defended in divorce proceedings.
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A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed before marriage. A postnuptial agreement is signed after the wedding. In general terms, both are designed to address financial rights and responsibilities between spouses or future spouses.
Many states follow some version of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act or the newer Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act, although state adoption and wording vary. The Uniform Law Commission explains that the UPMAA was created in part to reduce uncertainty and conflicting standards around enforcement, especially when couples move between states (Uniform Law Commission; Premarital Agreement Act).
These agreements commonly cover issues such as:
They generally do not control everything. Courts are often reluctant to enforce terms that conflict with public policy, especially provisions involving child custody or child support, because those issues are usually decided based on a child’s best interests at the time of separation or divorce (American Bar Association).
If you want a more foundational overview, this guide on how marital contracts are built to hold up over time goes deeper into the basics.