For legal professionals
You draft agreements for a living. This time, you are the client.
A legal career creates a financial profile that changes dramatically over time. Associate compensation, partnership buy-ins, origination credits, and equity stakes in your firm all have their own prenup implications. Having your own independent counsel means you are represented, not just informed.
Flat fee of $5,000 per couple. Two independent attorneys.
The partnership track
Compensation can grow 5 to 10 times over a legal career
Few professions have the same income trajectory as law. A first-year associate earning $225K may eventually take home $2M or more as an equity partner. A prenup written at any point on this curve should work at every other point.
Compensation is primarily salary and a year-end bonus. The prenup question at this stage is simpler: income earned during the marriage is straightforward. The complexity is what comes next. If you marry as an associate, your income may triple or more over the following decade. A prenup can address how that growth curve is handled without needing to be renegotiated.
You may be accumulating deferred compensation, participating in firm profit-sharing, or making capital contributions toward future partnership. These instruments have their own timing and liquidity characteristics that a prenup can describe individually.
Your compensation now includes a draw against firm profits, with a true-up at year end. The timing of draws and distributions creates the same question investment bankers face: when was this income earned versus when did it arrive? A prenup can describe the framework for how draws, distributions, and capital account balances are treated.
You own a piece of the firm itself. Your capital account, unfunded pension, partner retirement benefits, and origination credits all have value. A prenup can address firm equity, capital contributions, and the eventual buyout or wind-down of your partnership interest.
Assets specific to legal careers
What a prenup needs to address beyond salary
Partnership capital account
The money you contribute to the firm as a condition of partnership. It is typically returned when you leave. A prenup can describe whether your capital contribution (made before or during the marriage) retains its character.
Origination credits and book of business
The client relationships you bring to the firm may have economic value through origination credits. While not always a liquid asset, a prenup can acknowledge how business development performed before the marriage is treated if it generates income later.
Deferred compensation and retirement plans
Many large firms offer deferred compensation, unfunded pension benefits, or mandatory retirement plan contributions. These may not pay out for years. A prenup can address how deferred amounts attributable to pre-marital work are characterized.
Client trust accounts
Funds held in trust for clients are never your personal property. This is a professional obligation, not a prenup asset. However, a prenup can clarify that IOLTA and trust balances are excluded from the marital estate to avoid any confusion.
For attorneys especially
Why independent counsel matters here
You know better than most that a prenup signed without independent legal advice is easier to challenge. When you are the one with the complex financial profile, having your own attorney is not just a formality. It is a procedural safeguard that protects the agreement itself.
At Neptune, each partner works with a separate, independent attorney. Neither one represents both sides. This structure is the same regardless of whether one partner is a lawyer, both are, or neither is.
Transparent pricing
$5,000
per couple
$3,000 drafting attorney + $2,000 reviewing attorney. No payment to get started. Rush pricing applies when the wedding is within 45 days. Turnaround is typically around 3 to 4 weeks when both partners use Neptune attorneys.
Start your prenupQuestions from legal professionals
I understand prenup law. Why do I still need my own attorney for this?
Knowing the law and being represented are different things. A prenup where one party drafted it without independent counsel is more vulnerable to challenge. Independent representation for each partner is a procedural safeguard. At Neptune, each partner works with a separate attorney, which means you are a client in this process, not the drafter.
My income is going to increase dramatically if I make partner. How does a prenup handle that?
A well-structured prenup does not freeze your income at its current level. It describes a framework for how income and compensation are treated during the marriage. Whether you earn $250K as an associate or $2M as an equity partner, the same framework applies. Your attorney can help you think through how to address the growth trajectory without needing to revisit the agreement.
What about my capital contribution to the firm?
Capital contributions made before the marriage are pre-marital assets. Contributions made during the marriage may be treated differently depending on the source of funds. If you use marital income to fund your buy-in, a prenup can address how that contribution is characterized. Your attorney can review what applies in your situation.
I am at a small firm and may start my own practice.
A prenup can address business interests, including a future practice you may build. If you start a firm during the marriage, the prenup can describe how the value of that practice is treated. If you already own part of a firm before the marriage, it can describe how pre-marital business value is distinguished from growth during the marriage.
My partner is not a lawyer. Will this feel adversarial?
Neptune is designed to make the process collaborative, not adversarial. Both partners complete a guided intake that walks through finances in plain language. Your partner gets their own independent attorney who explains everything to them directly. The goal is a shared understanding, not a negotiation conducted in legal jargon.
What does Neptune charge?
A flat fee of $5,000 per couple covers two independent attorneys, one for each partner. No payment is required to get started. Turnaround is typically around 3 to 4 weeks when both partners use Neptune attorneys. Rush pricing applies when the wedding is within 45 days.