Prenuptial agreement
written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage or a civil union
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement (commonly referred to as a prenup), is a written contract entered into by a couple before marriage or a civil union that enables them to select and control many of the legal rights they acquire upon marrying, and what happens when their marriage ends by death or divorce. Couples enter into a written prenuptial agreement to supersede many of the default marital laws that would otherwise apply in the event of divorce, such as the laws that govern the division of property, retirement benefits, savings, and the right to seek alimony (spousal support) with agreed-upon terms that provide certainty and clarify their marital rights. A premarital agreement may also contain waivers of a surviving spouse's right to claim an elective share of the estate of the deceased spouse.
In some countries, including the United States, Belgium, and the Netherlands, the prenuptial agreement not only provides for what happens in the event of a divorce but also protects some property during the marriage, for instance in case of bankruptcy. Many countries, including Canada, France, Italy, and Germany, have matrimonial regimes, in addition to, or in some cases, instead of prenuptial agreements.
Postnuptial agreements are similar to prenuptial agreements, except that they are entered into after a couple is married. When divorce is imminent, postnuptial agreements are referred to as separation agreements.
Legal recognition
Laws vary between states and countries in what content they may contain and under what conditions and circumstances a prenuptial agreement may be declared unenforceable, such as an agreement signed under fraud, duress, or without adequate disclosure of assets.
Africa
South Africa
In South Africa, a civil marriage or civil union is by default, a marriage in a community of property. To marry out of the community of property, the parties must sign an antenuptial contract in the presence of a notary public before their marriage and the contract must be registered in the Deeds Office within three months from the date of signature of the contract.
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This entry incorporates text from “Prenuptial agreement” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.