Weston Prenuptial Agreement Attorney

By Nadia Pazos, Family Law Attorney, Pazos Law Group · Updated July 2026

Quick Answer

Are prenuptial agreements enforceable in Weston, Florida?

Yes. A prenuptial agreement signed in Weston is enforceable under Fla. Stat. § 61.079, Florida’s Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. Section 61.079(3) asks only that the agreement be “in writing and signed by both parties,” and § 61.079(5) provides that it “becomes effective upon marriage of the parties.” A Broward County judge will enforce it unless the spouse resisting it carries the burden set by § 61.079(7)(a). In Weston, the asset at the center of the conversation is usually a professional practice and family assets in Latin America; the statute that makes it contractible is § 61.079(4)(a).

Weston is a master-planned community built by professionals, physicians, executives and entrepreneurs, many with deep ties to Latin America. A thoughtful prenuptial agreement lets couples marry with clarity rather than uncertainty.

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Prenuptial Agreements for Weston Couples

A prenuptial agreement is a contract signed before marriage that defines how a couple will treat property, income and debts if the marriage ends or one spouse passes away. In Florida these agreements are governed by Fla. Stat. § 61.079, the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, which sets the requirements for a valid and enforceable contract.

For Weston families, a prenup often addresses assets held both in Florida and abroad, family businesses passed between generations, and the separate property each spouse brings into the marriage. A clear agreement helps keep those interests organized and reduces the chance of conflict later.

Why Weston Couples Use Prenuptial Agreements

Couples in Weston frequently hold interests that cross borders, from family enterprises to accounts and real estate in more than one country. A prenuptial agreement lets partners decide in advance what stays separate and how jointly built wealth will be shared.

Understanding how Florida distinguishes marital from separate property helps couples make informed decisions. Our marital asset division calculator offers a general illustration, though every agreement should be tailored with counsel.

Are Prenuptial Agreements Enforceable in Florida?

Yes. Enforceability in Weston turns on a single section of the Florida Statutes and on nothing in the local rules of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. 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)?

It falls on the challenger, not on the spouse relying on the document. Under § 61.079(7)(a) an agreement is unenforceable only where “the party against whom enforcement is sought proves” one of the following:

Involuntary signing — § 61.079(7)(a)1. turns on whether the party “did not execute the agreement voluntarily.”
Improper conduct — § 61.079(7)(a)2. covers an agreement that “was the product of fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching.”
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 the one most often argued and the hardest to win, because § 61.079(7)(a)3. requires unconscionability plus the absence of disclosure, plus the absence of a written waiver, plus the absence of adequate knowledge. Section 61.079(7)(c) keeps unconscionability away from the fact-finder: “An issue of unconscionability of a premarital agreement shall be decided by the court as a matter of law.”

One override survives even a valid waiver. Section 61.079(7)(b) provides that where a support waiver “causes one party to the agreement to be eligible for support under a program of public assistance,” the court may require the other party to provide support to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility. Two housekeeping provisions round out the section: § 61.079(9) tolls limitations during the marriage, and § 61.079(10) leaves the formalities of spousal agreements under the Probate Code untouched.

A Weston couple already married is outside § 61.079 entirely. Section 61.079(2)(a) limits the Act to agreements made in contemplation of marriage; postnuptial agreements are governed by Casto v. Casto, 508 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1987), which permits a court to set an agreement aside for fraud, duress, or overreaching. Section 61.079 can be read in full on the Florida Legislature’s site 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 Weston 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 Weston Prenup Can and Cannot Cover

A Florida prenuptial agreement can address property division, spousal support and the handling of separate assets, but it cannot predetermine child support or custody. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.13 those matters are decided according to the best interests of the child at the relevant time.

What it cannot do is fix a child’s support or a parenting schedule in advance. Those issues remain with the court under the best-interests standard in Fla. Stat. § 61.13.

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

Florida does not leave the scope to guesswork. Section 61.079(4)(a) sets out eight subjects a Weston couple may address:

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 Weston couple can state that property and accounts held in another country stay separate, and can require that any dispute about the agreement be decided under Florida law. Because § 61.079(2)(b) defines property to include future, contingent, and intangible interests as well as active and passive income, the eight subjects above cover nearly everything a Weston couple would want to settle.

Without an agreement, the default rules apply. Fla. Stat. § 61.075 requires the court to classify property before dividing it; § 61.075(6)(b) treats assets acquired before the marriage and property acquired separately by gift or inheritance as nonmarital, while § 61.075(6)(a)1.b. pulls the enhancement in value of a nonmarital asset into the marital estate when it results from marital labor or marital funds. Kaaa v. Kaaa, 58 So. 3d 867 (Fla. 2010), addresses how passive appreciation on a nonmarital property is treated when marital funds pay down the mortgage.

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). Arbitration clauses are expressly contemplated. Under § 61.052(5), a court may enforce a premarital agreement to arbitrate “in accordance with the law and tradition chosen by the parties.”

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

Everything in § 61.079(4)(a) is subject to the next paragraph. Section 61.079(4)(b) states that “The right of a child to support may not be adversely affected by a premarital agreement.” Because the right is the child’s, the parents have nothing to trade. Support is computed under the § 61.30 guidelines from combined net income and the overnight split, and a Seventeenth Judicial Circuit judge runs that calculation regardless of what the agreement says.

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.

The remaining limits are narrow. Under § 61.079(4)(a)8. a term must not violate Florida public policy or a criminal statute, and under § 61.079(7)(b) a support waiver yields where it would leave a spouse on public assistance.

How Much Does a Prenup Cost in Weston, Florida?

A prenuptial agreement carries no filing fee, no recording fee, and no court cost. Those appear only if the agreement is contested in a dissolution case years later. Most Weston prenups are handled on a flat fee that varies by complexity. Simple two-person agreements with salary income and a home tend to sit at the low end of a four-figure range; agreements that have to describe a company, a trust, or assets held abroad move into the upper four figures or beyond. Because each spouse should be separately represented, budget for two fees rather than one, and expect any quote to follow a review of the assets.

The cost drivers are consistent — the size of the disclosure schedule that § 61.079(7)(a)3.a. effectively requires, the need for a valuation, and the number of drafts exchanged. Cross-border assets and translation of the agreement into Spanish both add time to the drafting schedule.

A Weston couple that begins several months out pays less and forecloses the § 61.079(7)(a)1. argument that the agreement was not executed voluntarily. For comparison, a contested dissolution begins with the filing fee set by the Broward County Clerk and grows with each contested valuation, deposition, and hearing. The agreement is almost always the less expensive path.

How Long Does a Divorce Take in Weston, Florida?

Residency is the first clock. Section 61.021 states that “one of the parties to the marriage must reside 6 months in the state before the filing of the petition,” and § 61.052(2) allows that residency to be corroborated by a Florida driver license, voter registration card, or identification card.

There is no statutory cooling-off period. Under § 61.052(2)(a), an uncontested case with no minor child ends when the court finds the marriage irretrievably broken. If there is a minor child, or the ground is denied, § 61.052(2)(b) permits the court to order counseling or to continue the case “for a reasonable length of time not to exceed 3 months.”

Expect a mediation before any final hearing. Section 61.183 permits referral of contested issues, § 44.102 addresses court-ordered mediation, and § 44.405 keeps the discussions confidential and privileged. Weston is in far western Broward near the Everglades; its dissolution petitions are filed with the Broward County Clerk in Fort Lauderdale.

An enforceable prenup removes the two most expensive fights from the case. What remains after § 61.075 and § 61.08 are contracted around is child support under § 61.30 and time-sharing under § 61.13. General information about Florida’s family courts and the approved family law forms is available at flcourts.gov.

Florida Prenup Rules at a Glance

The rules a Weston couple actually needs, with the pinpoint citation for each:

What controls: Fla. Stat. § 61.079, adopted as the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.
What is required: a signed writing, and nothing else (§ 61.079(3)).
When it starts: at the marriage (§ 61.079(5)); an agreement never followed by a wedding is inoperative.
Who must prove what: the party resisting enforcement, under § 61.079(7)(a).
Support floor: a waiver yields where it would leave a spouse on public assistance (§ 61.079(7)(b)).
Children: support cannot be adversely affected (§ 61.079(4)(b)); the guidelines are in § 61.30 and time-sharing in § 61.13(2)(c).
The alternative: litigating classification under § 61.075 and alimony under § 61.08 in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.
Later changes: a signed writing is required (§ 61.079(6)).
Postnuptial agreements: outside § 61.079 and governed by Casto v. Casto, 508 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1987).

Drafting an Agreement vs. Reviewing One

The two roles look similar and are not. Drafting means deciding what § 61.079(4)(a) subjects the agreement will cover and assembling a disclosure schedule strong enough to answer § 61.079(7)(a)3.a. Review means reading a finished document against the same standards, plus the timing question that drives § 61.079(7)(a)1.

How Pazos Law Group Helps Weston Couples

Nadia Pazos brings AV Preeminent recognition and roughly twenty years of Broward and South Florida family law experience to every Weston engagement. From our Coral Gables office we draft and review prenuptial and postnuptial agreements in English and Spanish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Weston prenup cover assets we own outside the United States?

Yes. A Florida prenuptial agreement can address how spouses treat separate property wherever it is located, including foreign accounts, real estate and business interests, as long as the agreement meets the disclosure and voluntariness requirements of Fla. Stat. § 61.079. Cross-border assets often benefit from careful drafting and, where appropriate, coordination with counsel in the other country.

What makes a prenuptial agreement enforceable in Florida?

Under Fla. Stat. § 61.079, a prenup is enforceable when it is in writing, signed by both parties, entered voluntarily, and made with fair and reasonable financial disclosure or a valid written waiver, and is not unconscionable when signed.

Do both of us need our own attorneys?

It is not strictly required, but independent counsel for each spouse strengthens an agreement. It supports the voluntariness and disclosure requirements and makes the prenup harder to challenge later.

Can a prenup set or waive alimony?

Yes. A Florida prenuptial agreement can set, limit, or waive spousal support, provided the agreement meets the requirements of Fla. Stat. § 61.079 and is not unconscionable when it is signed.

Are prenuptial agreements enforceable in Weston, Florida?

Yes. Florida enforces premarital agreements under § 61.079, and the burden of defeating one rests entirely on the spouse who signed it. Section 61.079(7)(a) lists the only three grounds, and § 61.079(7)(c) makes unconscionability a question of law for the judge rather than a factual dispute.

How much does a prenup cost in Weston, Florida?

A prenup carries no court cost. Attorney fees are quoted as a range that varies by complexity: simple finances at the lower end, and business interests, trusts, foreign property, or equity compensation at the higher end. Separate counsel for each spouse is standard practice, so a Weston couple should budget for two engagements.

Can a Weston prenup waive child support or set a parenting schedule?

No. A premarital agreement may not adversely affect a child’s right to support (§ 61.079(4)(b)), and it cannot fix a parenting plan. Support follows the § 61.30 guidelines schedule; time-sharing follows § 61.13(2)(c), which since 1 July 2023 begins from a rebuttable presumption of equal time.

Does a Florida prenup have to be notarized or witnessed?

No. Section 61.079(3) sets the whole formality requirement: a writing, signed by both parties. Florida imposes no notary and no witness requirement. Many couples notarize anyway to make the signatures harder to dispute. Any later amendment or revocation, however, must itself be a signed writing under § 61.079(6).

How long does a divorce take in Weston, Florida?

The statutory minimum is short: six months of Florida residence before filing under § 61.021, and a finding that the marriage is irretrievably broken under § 61.052(1)(a). What lengthens a Broward County case is disagreement, and most of the elapsed time goes to mediation under § 61.183 and § 44.102, with § 44.405 keeping those discussions confidential.

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Plan Your Weston Marriage With Confidence

A prenuptial agreement is not a prediction that a marriage will fail; it is a practical way to protect what each partner values and to enter marriage on the same page. We help Weston couples reach agreements that are fair, clear and built to hold up under Florida law.

Postnuptial Agreements in Weston

Many Weston couples asking about a prenup are already married. The instrument for that situation is a postnuptial agreement — the same financial planning, signed after the wedding rather than before.

Many form providers miss this: the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act stops at the altar. Section 61.079(2)(a) limits Fla. Stat. § 61.079 to agreements made in contemplation of marriage. Once a Weston couple is married, the controlling standard comes from Casto v. Casto, 508 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1987), under which an agreement may be set aside for fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching, or for unfairness where disclosure was incomplete.

A Weston postnuptial agreement can classify separate and marital property, allocate debt, address a business, and define or waive spousal support that would otherwise fall under § 61.08. What it cannot do is affect a child’s right to support — that right belongs to the child and is calculated under § 61.30 regardless of what the spouses agree.

Florida postnuptial agreements, in detail →

Prenuptial Agreements in Nearby Communities

Premarital agreements are governed by the same statute in every South Florida county. Nearby communities:

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