Can a Premarital Agreement Affect Your Probate Estate?

Premarital agreements– aka prenups–are most often associated with a couple divorcing. This may very well be true, but a divorce is not the only thing that a prenup might affect. Prenuptial agreements – and postnuptial agreements – can also be drafted to address what will happen to various assets should either of them die during the marriage. It is important to understand how a prenup might affect your interest in a probate estate, or that of your loved one.

What is a Prenup (or Postnup)?

Florida law states that a premarital agreement is a legal contract “between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage.” While marriage is a contract in and of itself, a prenup is a contract on top of that contract that states additional terms that are to apply in that particular marriage. Florida law establishes that a Florida prenuptial agreement will only take effect if and when the signing parties actually marry. Florida has several requirements that a prenuptial agreement must meet in order to be valid and enforceable, to include that prenups must be in writing and signed with the knowing consent of both parties. Postnuptial agreements operate in much the same way as prenuptial agreements, but postnuptial agreements are signed and entered into after the couple has already married.

Premarital and postmarital agreements can address many things. One such thing is probate and estate planning. For instance, a prenup may dictate:

• the disposition of property upon the death of either spouse;
• the waiver of a spouse’s inheritance rights under Florida probate law;
• the ownership rights in, and disposition of, life insurance payouts;
• the making of a will or trust

Once a prenup takes effect upon the parties’ marriage, it is a contract. It can only be amended or revoked by a separate, valid, written agreement between the signing spouses.

Titanic Effect

It would be rare indeed to find a person who has not heard of the sinking of the Titanic ocean liner. Another well-known fact is that John Jacob Astor, the richest man on the ship, and his pregnant new bride were also on the ship, Mr. Astor losing his life in the disaster.

What is lesser known is that Madeline’s claims to Mr. Astor’s estate were limited by a premarital agreement. Indeed, inflated for today’s world, when Mr. Astor died he was worth the equivalent of 2.75 billion dollars. However, the Astor’s had entered a pre-marital agreement. In the end, the widow Mrs. Madeleine Astor only inherited $100,000 from Mr. Astor’s estate. The other inheritances she would receive – such as an income from a five-million-dollar set-aside fund and the use of a mansion – were all only to be enjoyed on the condition that/for so long as Mrs. Astor never remarried.

When Is a Prenup Unenforceable?

A Florida court can decline to enforce the terms of a premarital agreement under certain conditions, such as if the agreement was not entered into voluntarily, or was unconscionable. Contact an experienced will & probate attorney at Suncoast Civil Law to learn more.

Contact Suncoast Civil Law Today

Premarital and postnuptial agreements help many individuals avoid messy, protracted probate litigation. However, disputes do still arise – particularly when there is a question of how one such agreement might affect the survivor’s inheritance rights. If you are involved in a probate dispute, contact the experienced Sarasota will & probate attorneys at Suncoast civil law for help.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.079.html

nytimes.com/1913/12/12/archives/mrs-astor-fights-tax-property-came-to-her-in-antenuptial-agreement.html