A postnuptial agreement is an enforceable contract between two married people that governs their separation and divorce.
Do you have a military pension? FERS? TSP? 401(k)? Inheritance? All of those assets can be governed by a post-nuptial agreement.
Common questions:
Who needs a postnuptial agreement?
- People with significant retirement assets who want to plan for retirement without uncertainty
- People who are trying to regain the trust of their partner post-affair (i.e., people who want to demonstrate that they are remaining in the marriage and repairing for reasons unrelated to money)
- People who anticipate an inheritance and asset acquisition (or have already received the same)
Will the court honor a postnuptial agreement?
- In the District of Columbia, parties will be bound by their agreement even if it appears in retrospect to be foolish or ill-advised (unless there is fraud, duress, concealment, or overreaching).
- In Virginia, parties will be bound by their agreement under normal contract law, except that such contracts are enforceable without consideration.
What needs to be in a postnup?
- It is not enough to list the assets that you have and state which party gets them. The postnup must include the bounty of the marriage and a workable test for determining the division of untitled property.