Different types of prenups exist with multiple clauses to fine-tune your agreement with your partner in a way that proactively supports both of your financial well-being.

Neptune approaches prenups as the loving, collaborative foundation for the long-lasting relationships that they are, helping couples access the resources, information, and attorneys they need to set themselves up for success.

What Is a Prenup and Why Does It Matter?

Prenuptial agreements are written agreements between committed couples stating the financial goals and values they intend to follow into their future together. They're key to good financial planning, especially if there's a significant disparity in wealth or debt between the partners.

Don't look at a prenup as a harbinger of doom and despair for your relationship. Consider it a solid financial foundation that will support you and your partner through thick and thin throughout the years. It facilitates open financial communication and planning that lets your committed relationship start on the right foot.

1. Traditional Prenups

A traditional prenup provides a legally binding agreement regarding financial decisions and status within a relationship. They're a great way to ensure you and your partner both have a complete understanding of your existing financial situations and obligations before getting married.

A common reason relationships fail is due to financial disagreements. Prenups can be a valuable tool that supports the marriage, starting with total transparency, trust, and understanding, as long as they come from a good place and are fair to both parties.

Traditional prenups typically address key financial decisions, such as:

• Who owns which assets, including those accrued while married
• Who's responsible for which debts or household bills
• How spousal support might look if the relationship fails. However, some jurisdictions limit how much spousal support can be dictated by a prenup
• How inheritances will be handled, especially in cases where partners have children from previous relationships
• How business ownership will be treated for businesses started before or during the relationship

2. Nontraditional Prenups

Nontraditional prenups generally aren't legally enforceable, but they do create a mutual understanding of boundaries, standards, and lifestyle choices in a relationship. They typically address non-financial matters and expectations, such as how to raise children or the division of household labor. They can also address other lifestyle factors, such as the number of vacations each party expects annually.

Increasingly, infidelity clauses are considered lifestyle clauses. These clauses impose penalties on a partner if they carry on an extramarital affair. In California, for example, infidelity clauses are considered unenforceable because they go against the state's no-fault laws. In a legal separation, the reason for the irreconcilable differences is considered irrelevant in terms of asset management and division.

Some might think nontraditional prenups are a waste of time if they can't be enforced. However, you can also see them as golden opportunities to collaboratively decide how you want to live your lives. Do the two of you value having a stay-at-home parent? You can write a nontraditional prenup that includes support for this. Do you have strong feelings about how many children you'll have and when? 

Those details can be discussed, written down, and referred back to as necessary. Of course, decisions and preferences can change with time, and you and your partner are always able to deviate from the agreed-upon behaviors, but they can work well to facilitate difficult topics upfront before tying the knot together.

3. Sundown Prenups

Some prenups include certain expiration dates, such as a set number of anniversaries. After that milestone is met, part or all of the prenup becomes no longer enforceable. This is known as adding a sunset clause or referred to as a sundown prenup. Just as the sun sets and the day ends, these prenups acknowledge that a new chapter for the relationship begins after a set number of years.

This kind of flexibility gives the couple a degree of financial separation and security during the earlier years they are married while still recognizing that, after several years, it makes sense to them and their relationship to further combine their assets.

4. Postnuptial Agreements

By definition, a prenup occurs before getting married. Postnuptial agreements (postnups) are the same kind of agreements between partners but are entered into by already-married spouses.

A postnup may make sense if one party's financial status significantly changes during the relationship. For example, if one partner suddenly becomes a highly successful author, they may ask for a postnup that allows them to retain all intellectual property rights that would likely be seen as community marital property in the eyes of a court. They can also make sense if one party stumbles into significant wealth or starts their own successful business that they don't want to be treated jointly. Some also seek postnups in instances where their partner made a series of poor financial decisions that they don't want backfiring on them.

Like prenups, postnups contain a range of financial agreements that both parties acknowledge. For the arrangement to be legally binding and held up in court if necessary, they must follow the same general guidelines as prenups. If you or your partner wish to establish a postnuptial agreement, it's important for both parties to seek independent legal council and have open, honest conversations together.

Embrace Your Future Together With Neptune

Prenuptial agreements aren't just a way to safeguard and outline financial obligations. They're integral to opening up an honest, transparent discussion about finances before getting married. With a solid foundation, your committed relationship benefits from the advantage of clear communication that considers the needs and financial standing of both parties upfront.

Neptune provides access to key information and details in one place, making it easy to start discussions and planning before ever bringing in an attorney. Explore key topics, such as the benefits and drawbacks of prenups and information about prenup pricing. 

Get started today with Neptune's prenup or postnup quiz to be matched with dedicated family attorneys ready to guide you through the process.