For dermatologists
Do dermatologists need a prenup?
If you own or plan to own a practice, run a medspa, or carry student debt into the marriage, a prenup is worth serious thought. Few professionals stack a high income, an appraisable business, a cash-pay aesthetic line, and six-figure training debt the way a dermatologist can. Neptune is the lawyer-led online prenup service: both partners get their own lawyer for one flat fee.
$5,000 flat fee per couple. Two independent attorneys included.
The four-part stack
What a dermatologist actually brings to a marriage
Most prenup content assumes a single paycheck. A dermatologist’s finances are layered, and each layer raises its own question. A prenup can address all four together.
- 1
Your practice ownership stake
If you have bought into a practice, or plan to, that stake is a real asset with a market value, not just a job. A partnership buy-in can run from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand dollars, and a practice can be valued on its earnings when it changes hands. That value can be a point of contention in a divorce.
- 2
Your medspa or aesthetic line
Cosmetic and aesthetic services are largely cash-pay, with little insurance billing and few receivables. If you have built a medspa alongside your clinical work, it is a separate business with its own value stacked on top of the practice. That is a lot of value in one household.
- 3
The goodwill question
Part of a practice’s value is goodwill: the reputation and relationships that keep patients coming back. Valuation professionals distinguish goodwill tied to the business from goodwill tied to you personally, and how each is treated can differ. Your attorney can review how this applies where you live.
- 4
Your premarital student debt
Most physicians finish training with six figures of education debt, and many are still paying it down years into practice. A prenup can address how debt you brought into the marriage, and the income you use to pay it, are treated, not just the assets you own.
Why it fits
A prenup that keeps up with your career
Your practice, your medspa, and your income are likely to grow well after the wedding. A prenup can be written to keep up.
You may own the asset before you marry, or after
Dermatologists often buy into a practice or open a medspa on their own timeline. A prenup can cover an ownership stake you already hold and set rules for one you take on later, so a buy-in that happens after the wedding does not create an open question.
Practice value can grow during the marriage
A practice or medspa you owned before the wedding can appreciate a great deal over the following years, partly through your own work. How that growth is treated is one of the harder questions in these cases, and a prenup lets you and your partner decide it in advance rather than leaving it to competing valuations later.
Two professionals who understand valuation
Valuing a medical practice or an aesthetic business is genuinely technical work. With Neptune, both partners get their own attorney, so each of you has someone who can make sense of the numbers and the treatment, not just sign a form.
It is a financial planning conversation, not a defensive one
A prenup is a chance to get clear together on income, debt, and a business that may be your family’s largest asset. Done well, it is part of building a shared plan, not a wall between you.
A clear comparison
Template platform vs lawyer-led platform
A downloadable template cannot value a practice or a medspa. Here is how a fill-in-the-blank form compares with a lawyer-led prenup for a business owner.
| Feature | Template platform | Lawyer-led platform (Neptune) |
|---|---|---|
| Practice and medspa ownership | Generic asset lists | Terms built around your business |
| Handles goodwill and appreciation | Not addressed | Written into the terms |
| Independent counsel for each partner | None | A separate attorney for each of you |
| Addresses premarital student debt | Rarely | Yes, alongside assets |
| Price | Low upfront, unclear if it holds up | $5,000 flat, both attorneys included |
How Neptune works
From first question to signed agreement
Get aligned with guided intake
Walk through your income, practice, medspa, debt, and goals as a couple. Neptune's guided intake helps both partners get clear before any legal work begins.
Work with two independent attorneys
Neptune connects each partner with a separate, licensed attorney for a free consultation. One represents you, a different attorney represents your partner. No payment until you decide to move forward.
Review, finalize, and sign
Your drafting attorney prepares an agreement built around your situation, and your partner's reviewing attorney reviews it with them independently. Turnaround is typically around 3 to 4 weeks.
Transparent pricing
One flat fee. Two independent attorneys.
$5,000
per couple, total
No hourly billing. No payment required to start. Rush pricing applies when the wedding is within 45 days, and complexity factors may affect the final fee.
Start your prenupGuides and resources
Read more before you begin
Prenup or estate plan first? A 2026 decision guide
A practice owner with a growing business often needs both. Here is how to think about the order.
Read the guidePrenup and estate plan cost, state by state (2026)
What couples actually pay for legal help, and how a flat fee compares to hourly billing.
Read the guideGuides for you
Guides on assets, debt, and equity
Start with the guides other couples read before they begin, then take the next step when you are ready.
Common questions from dermatologists
Can a prenup cover a practice or medspa I do not own yet?
Yes. A prenup can set rules for property and business interests you take on in the future, not just what you own on your wedding day. Many dermatologists buy into a practice or open an aesthetic business after they marry, and a prenup can describe in advance how a future buy-in or a new medspa would be treated. Your attorney can help you write terms that anticipate the ownership you expect to build.
If my practice grows in value during the marriage, does a prenup address that growth?
It can. Growth in the value of a business you owned before marriage, especially growth driven partly by your own work, is one of the harder questions in these matters, and rules for how it is treated differ from state to state. A prenup lets you and your partner decide up front how appreciation in the practice or medspa will be handled, rather than leaving it to competing valuation experts during a divorce. Your attorney can review what applies where you live.
How is the goodwill of my practice treated?
Valuation professionals often separate goodwill tied to the business itself from goodwill tied to you personally as the practitioner, and how each is treated can vary by location. Because a dermatology practice, and especially a cosmetic one, can carry meaningful goodwill, it is worth addressing directly. A prenup can help clarify how the practice and its value are treated, and your attorney can explain how the distinction works where you live.
I still have a lot of student debt. Can a prenup keep that separate?
A prenup can address debt as well as assets, including student debt you brought into the marriage. Because many dermatologists carry six figures of education debt into their early earning years, spelling out how that debt and the income used to pay it are treated can matter as much as protecting a practice. Your attorney can walk you through the options.
My partner is not a physician. Does a prenup protect them too?
Yes. A prenup is a shared agreement, and with Neptune both partners get their own independent attorney, so each side has someone looking out for them. A fair agreement often protects the partner who is not the practice owner, by setting out support and by making sure they understand a business and a debt picture that can be complex. The goal is an agreement both of you helped shape.
How much does a prenup with Neptune cost?
Neptune charges a flat fee of $5,000 per couple, and that covers two independent attorneys, one for each partner. There is no hourly billing and no payment required 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, though this can vary.
Ready to get started?
Two independent attorneys. One flat fee. No payment required to begin.
Start your prenup