Minnesota Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreement Attorney | Protect Your Future
Clarity and Protection for Your Marriage
Talking about a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is not about expecting the worst. It is about honest communication, thoughtful planning, and protecting the people and things you care about.
A carefully prepared agreement can give both spouses clarity about finances, property, and estate-planning goals. At Lauren Pevehouse Law, we help clients throughout St. Paul, Chisago County, and the greater Twin Cities prepare, review, and understand prenuptial and postnuptial agreements under Minnesota law.
What Is a Prenuptial Agreement?
A prenuptial agreement, called an antenuptial agreement under Minnesota law, is a contract two people enter into before marriage. It can establish how certain financial and property issues will be handled if the marriage ends in divorce, legal separation, or death.Minnesota antenuptial and postnuptial agreements are governed by Minnesota Statutes section 519.11.
A prenuptial agreement may help you:
• Define rights in marital and non-marital property
• Protect a home, business, professional practice, investments, or other assets owned before marriage
• Allocate responsibility between spouses for certain existing or future debts
• Address spousal maintenance
• Clarify estate rights and coordinate with your will or trust
• Plan for children from a prior relationship
What Is a Postnuptial Agreement?
A postnuptial agreement is entered into after a couple is already married. It can address many of the same property, financial, maintenance, and estate-rights issues that an antenuptial agreement can address.
Because spouses have a legal relationship to one another when a postnuptial agreement is signed, Minnesota imposes additional requirements. In particular, each spouse must be represented by separate legal counsel at the time of execution.
What These Agreements Can Do
A properly prepared prenuptial or postnuptial agreement may help you:
• Define marital and non-marital property rights
• Protect a business, professional practice, farm, or premarital assets
• Address inheritances, family property, or anticipated gifts
• Allocate responsibility between spouses for certain debts
• Establish terms concerning spousal maintenance
• Address rights in each other’s estates
• Coordinate with an estate plan, especially for second marriages and blended families
• Clarify expectations and reduce uncertainty about financial issuesImportant Limits:
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Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements can address significant property and financial issues, but they are not a substitute for a complete estate plan or a court order.
Agreements involving children require particular care. Minnesota courts retain authority over child-related issues under applicable law, including the child’s best interests and child-support requirements.
An agreement must also satisfy Minnesota’s procedural requirements and cannot be substantively unconscionable. A court may consider whether the agreement’s terms are unconscionable or whether drastically changed circumstances that were not anticipated when the agreement was made would make enforcement inconsistent with the parties’ reasonable expectations.
Requirements for a Valid Agreement in Minnesota:For agreements executed on or after August 1, 2024, Minnesota law requires careful attention to both procedural and substantive fairness. In general, an agreement should be:
In writing, signed in the presence of two witnesses, and acknowledged before a notary or another person authorized to administer an oathSupported by full and fair disclosure of each person’s current income and property, including reasonably accurate descriptions, good-faith value estimates, and the basis for those disclosuresEntered into voluntarily and free from duressPrepared so that its terms are not substantively unconscionable
For an antenuptial agreement, each person must have a meaningful opportunity to consult with independent legal counsel of that person’s choosing.
The agreement also must be entered into and executed at least seven days before the marriage.
For a postnuptial agreement, each spouse must be represented by separate legal counsel at the time of execution.
A postnuptial agreement is presumed unenforceable if either spouse starts a divorce or legal-separation action within two years after signing, unless the spouse seeking enforcement establishes that the agreement is fair and equitable.
The 2024 changes to Minnesota law took effect August 1, 2024, and apply to agreements executed on or after that date. 2024 Minnesota Laws, chapter 101.
Who Should Consider a Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreement?
These agreements are not only for people with substantial wealth. You may want to consider one if you:
Own a business, professional practice, farm, or investment property
Have significant assets, debts, or a substantial difference in income or property from your partner
Are entering a second marriage
Have children from a prior relationship
Expect an inheritance or want to preserve family property
Want to coordinate financial planning with your estate plan
Want clarity about financial responsibilities during marriage and in the event of a future separation or death
How Lauren Pevehouse Law Can Help
Lauren Pevehouse Law assists clients with:
Drafting prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
Reviewing an agreement proposed by a fiancé, fiancée, spouse, or their attorney
Explaining the agreement and your legal options in plain language
Addressing financial disclosure, execution requirements, and timing
Coordinating the agreement with your will, trust, powers of attorney, health care directive, and broader estate plan
Helping clients protect businesses, farms, inherited property, and family assets
Talk to a Minnesota Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreement Attorney
Whether you are planning for marriage or are already married and want clearer financial agreements in place, Lauren Pevehouse Law can help you approach the process thoughtfully and carefully.
We serve clients in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Woodbury, Maplewood, Stillwater, Chisago County, Washington County, and surrounding Twin Cities communities.
651-800-1030 · lauren@laurenpevehouselaw.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions?
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A prenuptial, or antenuptial, agreement is signed before marriage. A postnuptial agreement is signed after marriage. Both may address property, financial, maintenance, and estate-rights issues, but postnuptial agreements have additional Minnesota requirements, including separate legal counsel for each spouse.
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For a postnuptial agreement, yes. Each spouse must be represented by separate legal counsel when the agreement is signed.
For a prenuptial agreement, each person must have a meaningful opportunity to consult independent legal counsel of their choosing. Independent advice is strongly recommended.
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Start the process well before the wedding. For an antenuptial agreement executed on or after August 1, 2024, Minnesota law requires the agreement to be entered into and executed at least seven days before the marriage.
Signing less than seven days before the marriage does not automatically invalidate an agreement, but it changes the burden of proof and can create enforceability concerns.
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Agreements involving children require careful legal analysis. Minnesota courts retain authority over child-related matters under applicable law, including the child’s best interests and child-support requirements.
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They can be, when carefully prepared and executed. Minnesota law requires procedural fairness, including proper execution, appropriate financial disclosure, voluntariness, and the applicable legal-counsel requirements. The agreement also cannot be substantively unconscionable.
Postnuptial agreements have additional separate-counsel and two-year presumptive-unenforceability rules.
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No.
An agreement can also address rights in a spouse’s estate. That is why prenuptial and postnuptial agreements often work alongside a will, trust, beneficiary designations, and other estate-planning documents.