Doral Prenuptial Agreement Attorney

Are Prenuptial Agreements Enforceable in Florida?

Yes. Florida decides this by statute rather than by judicial discretion, and the burden sits on the spouse who wants out of the agreement. The formal requirements are in § 61.079(3), which provides that a premarital agreement “must be in writing and signed by both parties” and is “enforceable without consideration other than the marriage itself.” Nothing else is required to form it. Section 61.079(5) then supplies the trigger: the agreement “becomes effective upon marriage of the parties.”

Who Has the Burden of Proof Under § 61.079(7)(a)?

The spouse resisting the agreement carries it. Section 61.079(7)(a) provides that a premarital agreement “is not enforceable” if “the party against whom enforcement is sought proves” one of three things:

1. That the party “did not execute the agreement voluntarily” (§ 61.079(7)(a)1.);
2. That the agreement “was the product of fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching” (§ 61.079(7)(a)2.); or
3. That the agreement “was unconscionable when it was executed” and, before signing, that party was not provided “a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party,” did not “voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing,” the right to that disclosure, and did not have and could not reasonably have had adequate knowledge of the other party’s property or financial obligations (§ 61.079(7)(a)3.a.–c.).

The third ground is conjunctive. Unconscionability alone is not enough — all three lettered conditions in § 61.079(7)(a)3. have to be established as well, which is why a careful disclosure schedule is the single most protective drafting step. The unconscionability question is for the judge. Section 61.079(7)(c) states that it “shall be decided by the court as a matter of law.”

Section 61.079(7)(b) sets an outer limit on support waivers: if the waiver would push a spouse onto public assistance, the court may order support “notwithstanding the terms of the agreement.” Section 61.079(9) tolls any statute of limitations on a claim under the agreement “during the marriage of the parties,” while preserving equitable defenses such as laches and estoppel.

Timing decides which body of law applies. Because § 61.079(2)(a) covers only agreements “made in contemplation of marriage,” a document signed after the ceremony is judged under Casto v. Casto, 508 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1987), rather than under the statute. A Doral couple can read § 61.079 for themselves at leg.state.fl.us, where the Legislature publishes the current text.

Does a Florida Prenup Have to Be Notarized?

No. Section 61.079(3) requires a writing signed by both parties and nothing else — no notary, no witnesses, no recording. Many Doral couples notarize anyway because a notarized signature is harder to dispute years later, but notarization is not a condition of enforceability. Amendment is stricter than execution: § 61.079(6) provides that after marriage the agreement “may be amended, revoked, or abandoned only by a written agreement signed by the parties.”

What a Doral Prenup Can and Cannot Cover

A Doral prenup can classify a business interest, professional practice, and pre-marital accounts as separate, direct how they pass on divorce or death, and set or waive spousal support. It can protect an inheritance and other owners’ interests, allocate life-insurance benefits, and choose governing law — all useful where a family company crosses borders.

It cannot set child support or a parenting schedule in advance. Those remain with the court under the best-interests standard of Fla. Stat. § 61.13.

What Can a Prenup Cover Under § 61.079(4)(a)?

Section 61.079(4)(a) lists eight subjects that prospective spouses “may contract with respect to.” They are, in the statute’s order:

• Property rights generally — each party’s rights in property “whenever and wherever acquired or located” (§ 61.079(4)(a)1.).
• Control of property — the power to buy, sell, transfer, lease, mortgage, encumber, or otherwise manage it (§ 61.079(4)(a)2.).
• What happens on separation, divorce, or death (§ 61.079(4)(a)3.).
• Spousal support — its “establishment, modification, waiver, or elimination” (§ 61.079(4)(a)4.).
• Estate documents — the making of a will or trust to carry out the agreement (§ 61.079(4)(a)5.).
• Life insurance — ownership and disposition of the death benefit (§ 61.079(4)(a)6.).
• Choice of law governing how the agreement is construed (§ 61.079(4)(a)7.).
• A catch-all for “any other matter” that does not violate public policy or a criminal law (§ 61.079(4)(a)8.).

A Doral business owner can state that company shares, retained earnings, and any distribution reinvested in the company remain separate, and that a spouse takes a defined payment instead of an equity claim. Those categories are broad because the defined term is broad. Section 61.079(2)(b) treats property as any interest “present or future, legal or equitable, vested or contingent,” tangible or intangible, “including income and earnings, both active and passive.”

The equitable distribution scheme in § 61.075 is what an agreement displaces. Section 61.075(6)(b) protects pre-marriage, gifted, and inherited property; § 61.075(6)(a)1.b. carves out any enhancement traceable to marital effort or marital funds; and Kaaa v. Kaaa, 58 So. 3d 867 (Fla. 2010), addresses passive appreciation on a mortgaged nonmarital asset.

Alimony can be fixed or waived outright: § 61.079(4)(a)4. covers “the establishment, modification, waiver, or elimination of spousal support,” which takes the 2023 version of § 61.08 out of the picture except for the § 61.079(7)(b) floor. Choice of law under § 61.079(4)(a)7. pairs naturally with § 61.052(5), which lets a court enforce an antenuptial agreement to arbitrate under the law and tradition the parties choose.

What a Prenup Cannot Waive (§ 61.079(4)(b))

One sentence of the statute settles it. Fla. Stat. § 61.079(4)(b) provides: “The right of a child to support may not be adversely affected by a premarital agreement.” The right belongs to the child, not to the parents, so it cannot be bargained away. Child support in a Miami-Dade County case is calculated from the guidelines schedule in Fla. Stat. § 61.30 using both parents’ net incomes and the number of overnights.

The same is true of the parenting schedule. Section 61.13(2)(c) has, since 1 July 2023, started the analysis from a rebuttable presumption of equal time-sharing, applied to the facts as they exist at the time of the case.

There is one further limit on the adult terms. Section 61.079(7)(b) allows a court to order support notwithstanding a waiver where the waiver would leave a spouse eligible for public assistance, and § 61.079(4)(a)8. bars any term that violates “the public policy of this state or a law imposing a criminal penalty.”