Last Updated on: 23rd June 2025, 04:55 pm

Complete Guide to Postnuptial Agreements in Brooklyn and New York

What is a postnuptial agreement? Is it the same thing as a prenuptial agreement? Does it only protect one spouse while it leaves the other spouse with nothing even after a long-term marriage? Or does it only apply to short-term marriages?

The truth is many people are unfamiliar with the concept of a postnuptial agreement. A postnuptial agreement is a contract agreed upon by spouses after marrying that outlines the ownership of financial assets in the event of a divorce.

It does work like a prenup, but it’s signed after you get married. This means you have more power and more say over what you get if you do divorce your spouse because you married right into whatever assets he or she already had prior to your wedding.

Understanding Postnuptial Agreements and Their Purpose

A postnuptial agreement is less common than a prenup, but it is important. It doesn’t mean you’re looking to the future with the assumption your marriage will not last, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’re working on getting a divorce.

It means you want to protect yourself if something should happen. Perhaps you began a business of your own once you got married and you want to be sure you’re protected if you divorce. Maybe your spouse is suffering from an addiction that wasn’t present prior to your marriage and you worry that your financial life won’t be protected if it doesn’t work.

Create a Binding Legal Document

Brooklyn courts of law do recognize a postnuptial agreement as a binding document in court, but only if it meets all the criteria for a binding document. Although New York law already determines how property should be divided in the event a marriage ends in divorce or death, courts will recognize a valid postnuptial agreement that may be different from how New York law would divide the property.

There is no way a court of law in Brooklyn will recognize a verbal agreement as a postnuptial agreement. You can sit down with your spouse and discuss how you want to divide your marital assets and your debts if you ever divorced, but you cannot take that conversation into a court of law and present it to a judge as a binding contract.

You must write down your postnuptial agreement. Even if it’s written on a piece of notebook paper in red marker, writing it down is the first step toward making it a legal contract between two parties.

The next step is to make sure it’s signed. A court of law will not consider a postnuptial agreement if both parties did not sign the agreement. It’s better still if there is a witness signature on the document stating you were both of sound mind and body when you signed this contract.

Sound Mind and Body Requirements

If you or your spouse feel threatened, tricked, or bullied into signing this contract for any reason, it can be argued in court and possibly thrown out as a binding legal document.

For example, if you ask your spouse to sign it after a night of drinking heavily and he or she is drunk, it might not count as being legal. If you ask him or her to sign it while they are on medication following surgery, it’s not binding. Both of you must be of sound mind and body when making decisions such as this.

Is a postnuptial agreement for me?

There is no right or wrong way to view this kind of agreement. If you decide you want to have one on hand, you should have one.

This might be something you and your spouse fill out because your spouse co-owns a business with his or her family or has a family inheritance he or she wants you to take over in the event of their death. They could sign a postnup issues this as their dying wish so their family cannot try to argue it or push you out.

It’s not always a document you sign because you might not be sure your marriage is going to last. It’s to protect you from death, from business partners, and even from debts.

There are many reasons to fill out a postnuptial agreement, and you should speak to an attorney regarding this situation. You should both hire an attorney to represent you, to draft a postnup agreement, and an attorney to review it to be sure it’s in both your best interests.

Once this is done, it’s safe to sign the postnuptial agreement and take it to court if you ever need it. If you decide later you don’t want to abide by the agreement, you can always have your attorney argue the validity of the document based on stipulations you include, such as the fact that it’s null and void if one of you engages in an affair or is dishonest in the marriage.

Talk to an attorney to help ensure you’re protected with and from your postnuptial agreement in case anything happens in your future. You never know, and it’s always better to be safe than it is to be sorry.

Understanding the Differences Between Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

A prenuptial agreement is a legal written document between a couple intending to get married. It outlines what will happen if the couple divorces. A postnuptial agreement is a written agreement executed after a couple gets married, or have entered a civil union, to settle the couple’s affairs and assets in the event of a separation or divorce.

A postnuptial agreement is also a legal written document. However, the agreement is between a married couple. The married couple tell each other about the property and money they currently own. This information includes both marital and separate property.

Marital property is property both spouses own. Separate property is typically owned by one spouse prior to marriage. In certain instances, it could be inherited during the marriage that is separately owned.

In New York, postnuptial agreements are enforceable if you and your spouse enter into the agreement with full disclosure and honest. Brooklyn divorce court will recognize a valid postnuptial agreement even if differs from how the court would normally divide property.

A Brooklyn Postnuptial Agreement Addresses Various Marriage Issues

A postnuptial agreement addresses many of the same issues a prenuptial agreement addresses such as:

• Separate Property: The agreement will define what property is considerate untouchable by the other spouse. This is usually the assets and property you bring into the marriage. The property must be keep in your name only. Any time separate property is placed in you and your spouse’s name, it may be deemed marital property.
• Marital Property: A postnuptial agreement permits you to identify the assets and property you and your spouse share. You can change separate property into marital property too.
• Child Support. A postnuptial agreement cannot resolve any child support, child support or child visitation issue. However, you can still address the issue. These issues are ultimately resolved by Brooklyn family court. It will look at the postnuptial agreement to determine if it fits with the best interest of the child. The best interest of the child standard is used in child custody cases.
• Establish Alimony. Alimony, or maintenance, is a monthly payment one spouse gives to another to support them after the divorce. A postnuptial agreement can establish what kind of financial support you or the other spouse will pay or if any alimony will be paid at all.
• Child Support for Prior Children. If you or your spouse have children from a prior relationship, you can address their financial support. In the agreement, you can determine whether they will be provided for after the divorce. This typically occurs in cases where a spouse does not adopt their spouse’s children.
• Pre-marital Debt. Some couples enter a marriage with substantial debts. It may be student loans or business loans. A postnuptial agreement can prevent you from paying on your spouse’s debts if there is a divorce.

Ensuring Your Agreement is Enforceable

Contact an Postnuptial Attorney Regarding Your Agreement with Your Spouse

It is vital for you to ensure your postnuptial agreement is enforceable. Most courts tend to uphold the agreements as long as they’re written, signed without coercion, and involve a full disclosure of financial information on both sides.

A lot of agreements are presumed enforceable until it is challenged in divorce court. Here are some reasons why a postnuptial would be invalidated:

• You or your spouse did not have separate attorneys. New York law requires each spouse has separate counsel to advise them of their rights.
• You or your spouse committed fraud. This means you or your spouse was not completely honest.
• You or your spouse was coerced. Coercion means you were persuaded to enter into the agreement.
• The agreement is unfair to one spouse. This means one of you gave up too much money or assets. The law prohibits one spouse from a lopsided agreement.

Contact us today. We will assist you with your prenuptial agreement.

The Purpose of the Postnuptial Agreement

If you didn’t get a prenuptial agreement before marriage and now you’d like to get a postnuptial agreement to protect your assets, Spodek Law Group can help.

We have experienced postnuptial attorneys who can set up a postnuptial agreement that fulfills all the legal requirements. This is essential, because agreements that don’t often are ruled invalid during divorce court.

The last thing you want is to spend your time on a postnuptial agreement that ends up being useless in court.

Here’s everything you need to know about postnuptial agreements in New York, along with how we can give you the best representation as we arrange your agreement.

If you’re familiar with the prenuptial agreement, often referred to as the prenup, then the postnuptial agreement isn’t hard to understand, because it serves the same purpose. Both agreements are contracts between you and your spouse that stipulate what will happen if you divorce.

This includes what property belongs to each of you and if there will be any spousal support.

Many couples make the mistake of not getting any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, which leaves your divorce proceedings entirely in the hands of the court. You’re much better off getting a contract that ensures your assets will stay with you should you get divorced.

The sole difference between prenuptial and postnuptial agreements is when you get them, with a prenup being an agreement you and your spouse sign before the wedding, a postnup is an agreement you both sign after.

If you didn’t get a prenup and you’re now married, then you’ll need to go the postnuptial agreement route. You’ll want an attorney to help you during this process.

Common Reasons for Getting a Postnuptial Agreement

Some Reasons for Getting a Postnuptial

Just as in the drafting of a prenup, in a postnuptial agreement, both parties must be completely transparent about all their assets and debts. A postnuptial agreement’s primary purpose is to establish clear guidelines for the distribution of assets, debts and other financial matters.

The agreement can cover the rights and responsibilities of the spouses during the marriage, as well as division of property and spousal maintenance issues if the couple ever gets divorced.

Changes in financial circumstances, roles and relationships sometimes happen. Here are some scenarios that might prompt a couple to enter a postnuptial agreement.

• One spouse may give up their career to stay home with the children. That spouse may want to be certain their financial interests are protected in case of divorce.
• A couple makes a choice to start a business together and they need to clarify the differences among business, marital and separate assets.
• One of the spouses comes into a large inheritance. Customarily, a court would award the inheritance solely to that spouse in case of divorce. There might be a desire to distribute the inheritance differently than it would be distributed under New York law or to clarify which property is part of the inheritance so it is not intermingled with marital assets.
• A spouse incurred significant debt prior to the marriage, and the other spouse wishes to clarify they are not responsible for it.
• Some situation triggered a loss of trust in the relationship, for example, infidelity.

Legal Requirements of a Postnuptial Agreement

Your postnuptial agreement must meet all the requirements set by the state of New York, and requirements are stricter for these agreements than for other types of contracts.

First, here are the basic requirements. Your postnuptial agreement must be in writing, as the court won’t honor oral agreements. You and your spouse must sign the agreement of your own free will.

Like any other contract, if there was any deception, coercion or threats involved when either you or your spouse signed, the court will throw it out. Having an attorney present helps ensure that both parties enter the agreement voluntarily.

Both spouses must sign the agreement, and if it isn’t signed correctly, that could invalidate it. A postnuptial attorney can ensure that you and your spouse sign your postnuptial agreement correctly.

Fairness and Full Disclosure Requirements

Now, let’s look at the more complex requirements – fairness and full disclosure.

Fairness sounds a bit vague, and it is, which gives the court plenty of latitude. What it means is that a postnuptial agreement can’t put one party at a significant advantage over the other, and it can’t be one party making all the concessions.

The legal concept of consideration is an important part of fairness. Consideration means that when you gain something in a contract, you also give something up. So, if something in your postnuptial agreement benefits you, you must also give something up that will benefit your spouse to make it even.

While divorce courts honor postnuptial agreements whenever possible, they won’t in agreements that are clearly one-sided. A postnuptial attorney can help with this. It’s recommended for both you and your spouse to have your own independent attorneys, that way you each have someone representing your interests.

Full disclosure means that you and your spouse must fully disclose your assets, both what you have now and what you expect to have in the future, for the agreement to be valid. If either of you doesn’t disclose something, whether through intentionally concealing it or an honest mistake, the court may not honor the agreement.

Covering Future Assets

How can you know what assets you’ll have in the future? This refers only to assets you could reasonably be expected to know about at the time you entered the postnuptial agreement.

For example, if you know you will one day inherit your father’s home or a certain amount of money, you’ll need to disclose that. At Spodek Law Group, our postnuptial attorneys will go over your assets with you to make sure you get everything.

Preparing Your Postnuptial Agreement

If you didn’t get a prenup, then it’s in your best interest to set up a postnuptial agreement right away. Hopefully you never need it, but if you ever do, you’ll be glad you took the time.

Our skilled postnuptial attorneys can guide you every step of the way and make sure your agreement holds up in court. Contact Spodek Law Group and we’ll help you create a postnuptial agreement right away.