Prenups Aren’t Just for the Wealthy
A properly executed Florida prenuptial agreement under §61.079 can protect separate property and dramatically simplify divorce — but it can never predetermine child custody or support. Here’s what a prenup actually locks in, what makes it enforceable, and where it stops.
The myth that prenups are only for the rich
People picture prenups as something for celebrities and trust-fund kids. In practice, they’re one of the most useful tools available to anyone entering a marriage with assets, a business, retirement accounts, or kids from a prior relationship.
A prenup isn’t about planning to fail. It’s about deciding the rules while you’re both calm, instead of leaving a judge to decide them while you’re not.
What a prenup actually locks in — and what it can’t
A well-drafted, enforceable Florida prenuptial agreement under §61.079 typically does one job extremely well: it defines what stays separate property. Assets brought into the marriage — and the growth on those assets — can be protected from division, even after years of marriage.
That single provision can eliminate most of the fighting in a divorce. If the retirement account and the investments are already spoken for, there’s often only one real asset left to negotiate: the marital home built together.
Why this matters the day you actually divorce
We’ve seen prenups do exactly what they’re supposed to do — turn what could have been a drawn-out asset fight into a two-issue conversation. When the prenup is clean and enforceable, couples can move straight to the parts that actually need negotiating: parenting time and support.
That’s the real value. Not preventing divorce. Shrinking it.
The one thing a prenup will never decide: your kids
Here’s what a prenup cannot do, no matter how well it’s drafted: decide parenting time, decision-making authority, or child support. Florida courts will not enforce a provision that predetermines custody or caps support below what a child actually needs — that’s decided based on the child’s circumstances at the time of divorce, not an agreement signed years earlier.
So if children are involved, expect a prenup to simplify the money conversation and leave the parenting conversation for later, on its own terms.
How to know if your prenup will hold up
Enforceability comes down to a few consistent things: full financial disclosure at the time of signing, no coercion or unequal bargaining power, and terms that aren’t unconscionable. A prenup signed the night before the wedding, with no financial disclosure, is far more vulnerable than one negotiated months in advance with both parties represented.
If you’re heading into divorce and have a prenup, the first question isn’t what it says — it’s whether it will hold up. That answer changes everything about how the rest of the case gets handled.
Talk it through before you sign anything
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