Florida Statute § 61.079 — Premarital Agreements

By Nadia Pazos, Family Law Attorney, Pazos Law Group · July 2026  ·  ← All blog posts

Fla. Stat. § 61.079 is Florida’s prenuptial agreement law — the state’s version of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (UPAA). It sets out what it takes to form a valid prenup, what a couple can and cannot agree to before marriage, how the agreement is later amended or revoked, and the narrow grounds on which a Florida court will refuse to enforce it. This guide summarizes the statute in plain English.

Overview: What § 61.079 Covers

Fla. Stat. § 61.079 is titled the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (UPAA). Florida enacted it in 2007 (ch. 2007-171), adopting a uniform framework that governs agreements entered into by two people in contemplation of marriage and made effective upon that marriage. The statute controls how a premarital agreement (commonly called a “prenup”) is formed, what it can and cannot cover, how it is later changed, and when a court may decline to enforce it.

The statute covers, at a high level:

• Formation — the writing-and-signature formalities in § 61.079(3).
• Effective date — the agreement becomes effective upon marriage under § 61.079(5).
• Content — the broad list of subjects a couple may address in § 61.079(4)(a), and the child-support limit in § 61.079(4)(b).
• Amendment and revocation — how the parties can change or cancel the agreement after marriage under § 61.079(6).
• Enforcement — the specific defenses to enforcement in § 61.079(7), plus special rules for void marriages (§ 61.079(8)) and limitation periods (§ 61.079(9)).

Formalities: How a Prenup Is Formed (§ 61.079(3))

Florida keeps the formation requirements deliberately simple. Under § 61.079(3), a premarital agreement must be:

• In writing, and
• Signed by both parties.

The statute also provides that the agreement is enforceable without consideration other than the marriage itself. In plain terms, the promise to marry is enough — neither party has to give the other money or property to make the prenup binding.

Note what the statute does not require: § 61.079(3) does not require the agreement to be notarized, and it does not require witnesses. That said, notarizing the signatures and having each party represented by independent counsel are widely used best practices — not legal requirements — that can make a later challenge harder by helping demonstrate the agreement was read, understood, and signed voluntarily. Treat them as ways to strengthen enforceability, not as elements the statute demands.

Under § 61.079(5), a premarital agreement becomes effective upon marriage. If the wedding never happens, the agreement never takes effect.

What a Prenup Can Address (§ 61.079(4)(a))

Section 61.079(4)(a) gives couples broad freedom to contract about their financial affairs. The parties may agree with respect to:

• The rights and obligations of each party in any property, whenever and wherever acquired or located.
• The right to buy, sell, use, transfer, or otherwise manage and control property.
• The disposition of property on separation, dissolution of marriage, death, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event.
• The establishment, modification, waiver, or elimination of spousal support (alimony).
• The making of a will, trust, or other arrangement to carry out the agreement’s provisions.
• The ownership rights in and disposition of the death benefit from a life insurance policy.
• The choice of law governing the agreement.
• Any other matter, including personal rights and obligations, so long as it does not violate public policy or a statute imposing a criminal penalty.

This is why prenups are used so often in high-net-worth and second-marriage situations: they let couples define what counts as separate versus marital property, protect a family business or inheritance, coordinate estate plans, and decide alimony questions in advance rather than leaving them to the equitable-distribution and alimony statutes if the marriage ends.

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

There is a firm limit. Under § 61.079(4)(b), a premarital agreement may not adversely affect the right of a child to support.

In practice that means a prenup cannot predetermine child support, custody, time-sharing, or parental responsibility. Parents cannot bargain away what a child is owed. Those issues are decided by the child’s best interests at the time the issue actually arises, under Fla. Stat. § 61.13 (and, for the support amount, the child-support guidelines). A clause in a prenup that tries to fix child support or lock in a custody arrangement is not binding on the court.

Amendment & Revocation (§ 61.079(6))

Once the parties are married, the agreement is not frozen — but changing it takes the same formality that created it. Under § 61.079(6), after marriage a premarital agreement may be amended or revoked only by a written agreement signed by both parties. Like the original prenup, that amendment or revocation is enforceable without consideration.

A verbal understanding or one spouse’s unilateral change is not enough. If a married couple wants to alter the deal they struck before the wedding, they generally do so through a signed written amendment (or, depending on their goals, a separate postnuptial agreement).

When a Prenup Is Not Enforceable (§ 61.079(7))

Florida courts start from the position that a validly formed prenup is enforceable. The burden is on the party opposing the agreement to prove a defense. Under § 61.079(7)(a), a premarital agreement is not enforceable if that party proves any one of the following:

1. Involuntariness — that party did not execute the agreement voluntarily; or
2. Fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching — the agreement was the product of one of these; or
3. Unconscionability plus lack of disclosure — the agreement was unconscionable when it was executed and, before signing, that party (a) was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the other party’s property and financial obligations; (b) did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing, any right to disclosure beyond what was provided; and (c) did not have, and could not reasonably have had, adequate knowledge of the other party’s property and financial obligations.

Two related rules shape how this plays out:

• Unconscionability is decided by the court. Under § 61.079(7)(c), whether an agreement is unconscionable is a question of law for the court to decide, not the jury.
• Public-assistance safety valve. Under § 61.079(7)(b), if a provision that eliminates or modifies spousal support would cause one party to be eligible for public assistance at the time of separation or divorce, a court may order the other party to provide support to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility — despite the terms of the agreement.

This is the practical reason full financial disclosure matters so much. The single most common way a prenup gets attacked is the unconscionability-plus-nondisclosure route, and complete, documented disclosure of assets and debts before signing is the strongest defense against it.

Void marriages and limitation periods

Two more provisions round out the enforcement picture:

• Void marriage (§ 61.079(8)). If a marriage is determined to be void, a premarital agreement is enforceable only to the extent necessary to avoid an inequitable result.
• Time limits (§ 61.079(9)). Any statute of limitations applicable to an action asserting a claim for relief under a premarital agreement is tolled during the marriage. However, equitable defenses that limit the time for enforcement — including laches and estoppel — remain available to either party.

Related Statutes

• Fla. Stat. § 61.13 — Time-Sharing & Parenting Plans (why a prenup cannot decide custody or child support).
• Fla. Stat. § 61.08 — Alimony (the framework a prenup can modify or waive).
• Fla. Stat. § 61.075 — Equitable Distribution (how marital property is divided absent an agreement).
• Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements — Practice Area
• Florida Prenuptial Agreement Attorney
• Florida Family Law Glossary

Frequently Asked Questions

This page provides general legal information about Fla. Stat. § 61.079 and is not legal advice. Reading or sharing it 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.