Florida Prenup or Postnup With Panama Ties: Capitulaciones Matrimoniales, Participación en las Ganancias and Disclosure (2026)

By Nadia Pazos, Family Law Attorney, Pazos Law Group · Updated October 13, 2026

A Panamanian fiancé(e), an apartment in Panama City, a business with a partner in Panama, or a couple who married in Panama and now lives in Miami: each raises the question of how Panama’s marital-property rules and Florida law fit together, before or after the wedding. Pazos Law Group, a family law firm in Coral Gables serving Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, drafts and reviews Florida prenups and postnups for couples with Panama ties, in English or Spanish: (305) 482-1262.

Two Systems, Two Formalities

• Florida: a premarital agreement “must be in writing and signed by both parties,” and “becomes effective upon marriage of the parties.” § 61.079(3), (5)
• Panama: “El régimen económico del matrimonio será el que los cónyuges estipulen en capitulaciones matrimoniales, sin otras limitaciones que las establecidas en este Código o el señalado por la ley” (art. 81). “Las capitulaciones matrimoniales podrán otorgarse antes o después de celebrado el matrimonio y para su validez deben constar en escritura pública” (art. 87).
• Limits in Panama: “Será nula cualquier estipulación contraria a las leyes o a las buenas costumbres, o limitativa de la igualdad de derechos y deberes de los cónyuges” (art. 92).
• Registration in Panama: capitulaciones are noted on the marriage record in the Civil Registry, and recorded in the Public Registry if they affect real property (art. 91). Where there is no notary and the property contributed is under B/.5,000, they may be executed before the secretary of the municipal council and two witnesses (art. 88).

Watch the 2-minute answer: Can a Florida prenup cover assets in another country?

Which Law Governs the Property Regime?

Panama’s Family Code answers this itself: “El régimen patrimonial de los cónyuges se rige por la ley del lugar donde se haya celebrado el matrimonio, salvo que las partes, de común acuerdo, hayan celebrado capitulaciones matrimoniales o señalado un régimen económico distinto al legal” (art. 10). A Florida prenup can include its own choice-of-law clause (§ 61.079(4)(a)7.). Whether a Panamanian notary, registry or court will give effect to a Florida agreement for property in Panama is a question a lawyer in Panama should confirm.

Before or After the Wedding

Panama allows capitulaciones before or after the marriage (art. 87). Two timing rules matter:

• Terms agreed in contemplation of a future marriage “quedará nulo y sin efecto alguno, en caso de no contraerse en el plazo de un (1) año” (art. 93).
• A change to existing capitulaciones must follow “las mismas formalidades requeridas para su otorgamiento”, leaving third parties’ rights intact (art. 90), and a change of regime during the marriage “no perjudicará, en ningún caso, los derechos ya adquiridos por terceros” (art. 83).

Florida also has an after-the-wedding option: a postnuptial agreement. See Florida postnuptial agreements.

The Default: Participación en las Ganancias

“A falta de capitulaciones matrimoniales o cuando éstas sean ineficaces, el régimen económico será el de participación en las ganancias” (art. 82). During the marriage each spouse keeps “la administración, el disfrute y la libre disposición” of the property owned at the wedding and of what is acquired later (art. 103). When the regime ends, each spouse “adquiere derecho a participar en las ganancias obtenidas por su consorte, durante el tiempo en que este régimen haya estado vigente” (art. 102). The regime ends when the marriage is dissolved, when a judicial separation is decreed, or when the spouses agree on a different regime in the form the Code requires (art. 107).

A contrast worth noticing: in Panama’s default regime, each spouse shares in the gains the other obtained while the regime was in force (art. 102). In a Florida divorce, “all income derived from nonmarital assets during the marriage” is nonmarital “unless the income was treated, used, or relied upon by the parties as a marital asset” (Fla. Stat. § 61.075(6)(b)3.). Rental income from an apartment in Panama is exactly where the two systems can point in different directions, so the agreement should say how it is treated.

A Postnup or Capitulaciones Signed in Panama, in a Florida Divorce

• Florida is not a community-property state. § 61.075(8) states that the section does not “establish community property in this state”; Florida divides marital assets by equitable distribution.
• A written agreement controls classification. Assets “excluded from marital assets and liabilities by valid written agreement of the parties” are nonmarital (§ 61.075(6)(b)4.). Capitulaciones in an escritura pública are a written agreement; participación en las ganancias that applies by default under art. 82 is not one.
• Comity and public policy. A postnup signed in Panama is an agreement made after the wedding, so Florida looks at it through comity and the Casto standard for marital agreements, subject to Florida public policy (Gustafson v. Jensen, 515 So. 2d 1298, 1300 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987): foreign law is enforced “only to the extent called for under principles of comity,” and comity is not recognized where it “would frustrate an established public policy of this state”).
• What to bring. A certified copy of the escritura pública, the registry annotation, and a certified English translation. More detail: enforcing a Panama agreement in a Florida divorce.

Disclosing Panamanian Assets

Florida’s unconscionability defense turns on whether the challenging party received “a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party,” waived further disclosure in writing, or had adequate knowledge (§ 61.079(7)(a)3.). For Panamanian assets, the schedules should give each property’s location and approximate value in dollars, any mortgage, company shareholdings, Panamanian bank and pension accounts, and income from them. Supporting documents from Panama, with translations where a party does not read Spanish, make the disclosure easier to prove later.

Pazos Law Group advises on Florida law and does not give opinions on Panamanian law. Where property is in Panama or the couple married or will marry there, we coordinate with the client’s Panamanian lawyer or notary so the Florida agreement and any capitulaciones do not contradict each other.

Consultations in person or by video, in English or Spanish. Meet Nadia at our Coral Gables office or by video from Panama.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources & Related Reading

• Código de la Familia de Panamá (Ley 3 de 1994), arts. 10, 81–93, 102–107 — Órgano Judicial (official)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.079, Premarital agreements — Florida Senate
• Fla. Stat. § 61.075, Equitable distribution — Florida Senate
• Enforcing a Prenup or Postnup in a Florida Divorce
• International Prenups in Florida
• Is a Foreign or Out-of-State Prenup Valid in Florida?
• Florida Postnuptial Agreements
• Florida Prenup With Colombian Ties
• Esta página en español

The information on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, and it does not address the law of any state or country other than Florida except as expressly noted. Reading or sharing this content does not create an attorney-client relationship with Pazos Law Group. Florida law and the application of statutes change over time; please consult a licensed Florida attorney about your specific situation, and counsel licensed in any other state or country whose law may apply.