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Florida Postnuptial Agreements: What a Postnup Can Settle

Didn’t do a prenup, or life changed after the wedding? A postnup sets the rules now.

Same protections as a prenup, signed after marriage, when a business grows, an inheritance arrives, or a second marriage begins.

Book a No-Cost Phone Consult Postnup, flat fee from $2,950. What the fee covers. Not married yet? See prenups

Quick Overview

A Florida postnuptial agreement is signed after you are already married and sets out what property is separate, how debts and alimony are handled, and what happens at death. It can waive a spouse’s right to roughly 30% of your estate, which matters most in a second marriage. Florida holds it to a higher standard than a prenup, so how it is made comes down to the points below.

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Below, we walk through the 3 issues that decide whether this is the right move for you. Jump to any one.

  1. What a Postnup Does, and Is It a Prenup After Marriage? It decides what is separate versus marital property, who can claim alimony, and what happens at death. One thing it cannot touch, though, is set later by Florida.
  2. Held to a Higher Standard Florida scrutinizes a postnup harder than a prenup because spouses owe each other a duty of fairness. Miss the disclosure requirements and a court can throw it out.
  3. The Estate-Planning Reason A surviving spouse can claim about 30% of your estate plus homestead rights regardless of your will. A postnup is the written agreement that waives or reshapes those claims.

That’s the quick version. The details below are what decide your situation, and where the costly mistakes hide.

What a Postnup Does, and Is It a Prenup After Marriage?

A postnuptial agreement is a prenup’s after-the-wedding cousin. It lets you and your spouse decide what’s separate and what’s marital property, how debts are handled, whether either of you can claim alimony, and what happens at death. Couples reach for one when something has changed. A business took off, an inheritance landed, a second marriage began without a prenup, or they are rebuilding trust and want the terms in writing. Like a prenup, it cannot set child support or custody, Florida decides those later by the child’s best interests. The menu is otherwise the same as a prenup’s, so what a prenup covers is a useful map, and if you are not yet married, start with whether you need a prenup at all.

Held to a Higher Standard

Florida scrutinizes a postnup more closely than a prenup. A prenup has its own statute; a postnup is governed by contract law, and because spouses owe each other a duty of fairness, courts look harder at how it was made. To hold up, it must be in writing, signed voluntarily, with full and fair financial disclosure, and it cannot be unconscionable. Each spouse should have independent legal advice. Built that way, it is enforceable.

The Estate-Planning Reason

This is often the real driver. In Florida, a surviving spouse can claim about 30% of your estate (the elective share) plus homestead rights, regardless of your will, unless waived in a valid written agreement. A postnup can waive or shape those rights, which is essential in a second marriage where you want to provide for your spouse but leave the bulk to children from a prior relationship. We coordinate it with your will or trust and beneficiary designations so everything agrees. For the full blended-family structure, see our second-marriage prenup guide. Couples who married without any agreement can see what Florida’s defaults would do in what happens if you don’t sign a prenup, and how the waiver works after a death in does a prenup apply at death. Where one spouse may one day need nursing-home care, the same waiver keeps an inheritance from ending that spouse’s Medicaid, and how a postnup fits into Medicaid planning covers what the agreement can and cannot change in the eligibility count.

A common question I hear is, “My husband wants me to sign a postnup. Do I have to?” Nobody can make you sign, and Florida wants the signature to be voluntary and informed. Before you sign, ask for the written disclosure of his estate that Florida requires for a waiver of death rights signed after the marriage, take the draft to your own lawyer, and take the time you need, because a one-week deadline is the fact a later challenge gets built on. What to do when your spouse wants a postnup covers what you are being asked to give up.

Another question I hear is, “My husband wants to start a risky business, and I am thinking about asking for a postnup.” A postnup signed before the business opens can say that the business, its growth and its debts belong to the spouse who starts it, and that your separate property stays yours, between the two of you. A postnup does not bind a lender or any other creditor, who is not a party to it, so the protection it adds is between spouses at a divorce or a death. The same disclosure applies, and the prenup guide for business owners shows what the agreement says about a business.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Is a Postnuptial Agreement?

It is the same idea as a prenup, signed after you are already married. It sets out what is separate and what is marital property, how debts are handled, whether either spouse can claim alimony, and what happens to your property at death. Couples reach for one when a business takes off, an inheritance arrives, a second marriage begins without a prenup, or they are rebuilding trust and want clarity. Like a prenup, it cannot predetermine child support or custody.

What Is a Postnuptial Contract?

A postnuptial contract is another name for a postnuptial agreement, a written contract between spouses signed after the wedding that settles property, debts, alimony and rights at death. Florida enforces it as a contract, and where it waives rights at death it must meet the probate code’s formalities, including fair disclosure of each spouse’s estate and two subscribing witnesses for a signing in Florida.

What Is the Purpose of a Postnuptial Agreement?

A postnup lets a married couple decide the rules Florida would otherwise apply. The common purposes are keeping a business or an inheritance separate, waiving a spouse’s 30 percent elective share and homestead rights so children from an earlier marriage inherit, settling alimony, and putting in writing terms the couple never agreed before the wedding.

What Should Be Included in a Postnuptial Agreement?

Start with a fair disclosure of each spouse’s estate, which Florida requires for a waiver signed after marriage. Then set out the terms for separate and marital property, including growth and income, responsibility for debts, alimony, and each spouse’s rights at death, with the elective share, homestead, exempt property and family allowance named. A clause requiring new wills or a trust to carry out the agreement, and the plan’s spousal-consent forms for any workplace retirement account, complete it.

How Much Is a Postnuptial Agreement?

A postnup drafted for one spouse is a flat fee from $2,950 at this firm. The fee is higher than a prenup because Florida requires fair financial disclosure for a waiver of rights at death signed after the wedding, so the disclosure is real work. Government costs, such as recording if any, are additional and passed through at cost.

Is a Postnuptial Agreement Enforceable in Florida?

Yes, when it is done right, but Florida holds it to a higher standard than a prenup. A prenup is governed by a specific statute; a postnup is governed by contract law, and because spouses owe each other a duty of fairness and good faith, courts scrutinize it more closely. It needs to be in writing, signed voluntarily, with full and fair financial disclosure, and it cannot be unconscionable. Each spouse should have independent legal advice. Done that way, it holds up.

Postnup vs Prenup: Which Do I Need?

If you are not yet married, a prenup is simpler and gets more deference from the courts. If you are already married, a postnup is the tool, and it can do nearly everything a prenup can. The most common reasons to do a postnup are a change since the wedding (a business, an inheritance, a windfall, or a move into a blended-family situation) or simply never having done a prenup. We help you decide and draft whichever fits.

Can a Postnup Handle Estate Planning?

Yes, and that is often the point. In Florida a surviving spouse can claim about 30% of your estate (the elective share) plus homestead rights, regardless of your will, unless waived in a valid written agreement. A postnup can waive or shape those rights, which is essential in a second marriage where you want to provide for your spouse but leave the bulk to children from a prior relationship. We coordinate it with your will, trust, and beneficiary designations.

Can a Postnup Cover Our Retirement Accounts?

Yes, but workplace retirement plans need one extra step. Federal law gives your spouse rights in a 401(k) or pension that the agreement alone cannot release; the release only counts on the plan’s own spousal-consent form, signed and witnessed the way the plan requires. Here a postnup has an advantage. You are already married, so you can sign those plan forms right away, and the agreement obligates each of you to do it. We build that step in and follow through so the paperwork matches the promise. IRAs get a similar check of their own consent language.

People arrive at this page asking whether they missed their chance by not signing before the wedding, and the honest answer is that a postnup reaches the same list of rights a prenup does. What changes is that Florida wants each spouse to disclose their estate to the other once the marriage exists, which is more work and is also why the agreement holds. The two documents compared, including the disclosure rule that runs the opposite way from what most people expect.

Sources of Law

Updated on October 7, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Each spouse should have independent counsel. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.

More Guides on Florida Prenuptial Agreements

Try the Which Estate Plan Do I Need? (quiz).