Prenuptial agreements in New York law: what they can and cannot do

A prenuptial agreement under New York law is a contract about property, signed and acknowledged like a deed. It is not a handshake and it cannot cover everything people expect it to.

What it can do

Define what stays separate and what becomes marital property, keep a business or a family apartment outside it, and set out who pays what during the marriage. For an owner of a company it is the cheapest protection available.

What it cannot do

It cannot deal with support for children, cannot pre-agree custody, and cannot leave one spouse without means in a way a court would consider unconscionable.

Timing and the acknowledgment

The agreement must be signed and acknowledged before a notary in the form required to record a deed. Signing it a week before the wedding is legally fine and practically a bad idea: give the other side time to take their own advice, or expect the agreement to be attacked later on that ground alone.

Drafting plus review by the other side’s counsel is a fixed fee. The number is on the fees page.