Fort Lauderdale 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 party attacking the agreement bears it. Section 61.079(7)(a) makes an agreement unenforceable where “the party against whom enforcement is sought proves” any one of three grounds:

1. Involuntary signing — § 61.079(7)(a)1. turns on whether the party “did not execute the agreement voluntarily.”
2. Improper conduct — § 61.079(7)(a)2. covers an agreement that “was the product of fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching.”
3. An unconscionable bargain struck in the dark — § 61.079(7)(a)3. applies only where the agreement “was unconscionable when it was executed” and the challenger was not given a fair and reasonable disclosure, did not waive disclosure in writing, and did not otherwise have adequate knowledge of the other party’s property or financial obligations.

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.”

There is a public-assistance floor. Under § 61.079(7)(b), a court may order support notwithstanding the agreement if the waiver would leave a spouse “eligible for support under a program of public assistance” at separation or dissolution. 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.

One line in § 61.079(2)(a) does a lot of work — it confines the statute to agreements made in contemplation of marriage. Everything signed later is tested under Casto v. Casto, 508 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1987). The Legislature publishes the current version of § 61.079 at leg.state.fl.us.

Does a Florida Prenup Have to Be Notarized?

No. The only formality in § 61.079(3) is a signed writing. Notarization is optional in Fort Lauderdale and does not affect whether a court will enforce the agreement, though it removes one line of argument about signatures. Changing the agreement later is harder than signing it: under § 61.079(6) an amendment, revocation, or abandonment must itself be “a written agreement signed by the parties.”

What a Fort Lauderdale Prenup Can and Cannot Cover

A Fort Lauderdale prenup can classify a marine business, a vessel, and pre-marital property as separate, direct how they pass on divorce or death, and set or waive spousal support — often central in a second marriage. For closely held companies, trusts, or layered assets, see our high-net-worth Florida prenup service. It can protect assets intended for children from a prior marriage, allocate life-insurance benefits, and choose governing law.

It cannot predetermine child support or time-sharing. Those decisions rest with the court under the best-interests standard of Fla. Stat. § 61.13.

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

The permitted subject matter is enumerated. Under § 61.079(4)(a), parties to a premarital agreement “may contract with respect to” eight categories:

• Property rights of either or both parties, “whenever and wherever acquired or located” (§ 61.079(4)(a)1.).
• Management and control — buying, selling, leasing, encumbering, or disposing of property (§ 61.079(4)(a)2.).
• Disposition of property “upon separation, marital dissolution, death, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event” (§ 61.079(4)(a)3.).
• Spousal support, including its complete elimination (§ 61.079(4)(a)4.).
• Wills, trusts, and other arrangements carrying out the agreement (§ 61.079(4)(a)5.).
• Life insurance death benefits (§ 61.079(4)(a)6.).
• Choice of governing law (§ 61.079(4)(a)7.).
• Any other lawful matter, including personal rights and obligations (§ 61.079(4)(a)8.).

A Fort Lauderdale couple can state that a documented vessel and a brokerage business stay separate, and that marital funds spent on refit or dockage create a reimbursement claim rather than an ownership share. 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.”

Compare the statutory default. Under § 61.075(6)(b), property owned before the wedding and property received by gift or inheritance is nonmarital; under § 61.075(6)(a)1.b., the enhancement in its value from marital labor or funds is marital. Kaaa v. Kaaa, 58 So. 3d 867 (Fla. 2010), is the leading case on passive appreciation.

Spousal support is contractible under § 61.079(4)(a)4., which permits “the establishment, modification, waiver, or elimination of spousal support.” A waiver displaces the framework in § 61.08 as rewritten in 2023, subject only to the public-assistance override in § 61.079(7)(b). For couples who want disputes resolved privately, § 61.052(5) authorizes enforcement of an antenuptial arbitration agreement under the law and tradition the parties select.

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

Section 61.079(4)(b) is one sentence long and it is absolute: “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 Broward County case is calculated from the guidelines schedule in Fla. Stat. § 61.30 using both parents’ net incomes and the number of overnights.

Nor can the agreement fix time-sharing. The 2023 amendment to § 61.13(2)(c) created a rebuttable presumption of equal time-sharing, and that presumption is applied by the court in the dissolution case itself.

The catch-all in § 61.079(4)(a)8. permits “any other matter” that does not violate public policy or a criminal law, and § 61.079(7)(b) preserves a support floor tied to public-assistance eligibility.