RICE LAW

Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements — You Decide, Not the Statute

A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement puts your property, your business, and your children’s inheritance under your control instead of the state’s default rules. We build agreements that hold — and we advise you before you sign one.

Rice Law works with clients considering marriage and those already married, tailoring agreements to what each couple actually needs.

Prenuptial Agreements

A prenup is no longer a sign that a marriage is starting on rocky ground. It’s now far more common — roughly 1 in 5 married couples has one, and about half of couples with more than $1 million in assets.¹ A Harvard Law School study still explains the old hesitation: most people assumed that being asked to sign a prenup made divorce more likely. The data has since caught up to the planning. A prenup also opens an honest conversation about what matters most in the marriage, finances included — one of the leading reasons marriages end. Couples who work through those questions tend to resolve them at the time they are most willing to: when they are most in love.

What a Prenuptial Agreement Is

A prenuptial agreement — also called a premarital agreement — is a written contract two people sign before they marry. It often includes an inventory of what each person owns and owes (frequently using a Schedule of Assets and property listing similar to an Equitable Distribution Initial Listing). North Carolina has adopted its version of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act at Chapter 52B of the General Statutes, which sets the formalities for execution, the enforcement provisions, and what the agreement may contain.

A prenup decides how property is shared during the marriage, how it is divided if the marriage ends, and whether either spouse pays alimony. Increasingly, business partners insist on one — so a partner’s divorce never puts the company on the table.

Done right, a prenup is written, signed by both parties, and notarized before the marriage. Without one, the court divides marital property under the law’s equitable-distribution rules — and a spouse can lose far more than they expected.

Reasons Couples Build a Prenup

• Keep separate property in the family and pass it to children of a prior marriage
• Protect the spouse who sets aside a career or assets for the marriage
• Shield one spouse from the other’s premarital debt
• Preserve premarital assets
• Provide for elderly parents
• Spare both spouses lengthy litigation if the marriage ends
• Keep children out of that litigation
• Protect a family business from a partner’s divorce

For years, couples hesitated for a reason the Harvard research identified: they underestimated both the value of the agreement and the odds of divorce, and many assumed that asking for one signaled distrust. That’s changed — but the core choice hasn’t. With a prenup, the two of you decide how your property is divided. Without one, state law decides for you.

Execution Is Everything

A prenup is only as strong as the way it’s prepared and signed. Agreements are commonly invalidated when they are (1) not in writing; (2) not properly executed — both parties must sign before the marriage, and an alimony waiver must be properly notarized; (3) built on invalid provisions; (4) tainted by irregularities such as undue pressure, too little time to review, or incomplete disclosure of property; or (5) unconscionable. Every one of these is avoidable. We prepare the agreement so it stands up later — which is why planning ahead matters.

Postnuptial Agreements

A postnuptial agreement — a postnup — does the same work as a prenup, with one difference: the spouses sign it after they marry.

Most often used for estate planning, a postnup gives married spouses a way to clarify responsibilities and provide for each other should the marriage end. Couples also sign one as part of a reconciliation after a family-law dispute — putting terms in writing so both spouses can move forward with the same understanding.

If your spouse has asked you to sign a postnup, talk to an attorney before you sign, so your rights are accounted for. Contact Rice Law to schedule a consultation.

A postnup can be valid under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52-10 as long as its terms don’t violate public policy, each spouse is competent, and the other requirements are met.

¹ Prevalence figures: The Harris Poll, Popularity of Prenups Rising (2022), theharrispoll.com. Signaling research: H. Mahar, Why Are There So Few Prenuptial Agreements?, Harvard Law School John M. Olin Center, Discussion Paper No. 436 (2003), law.harvard.edu.