Updated March 27, 2024
A Minnesota postnuptial agreement is a legal document that lets married couples determine certain financial rights and responsibilities if their marriage ends in death or divorce. As with prenuptial agreements, many couples find postnuptial agreements desirable because they can help protect assets against the uncertainty inherent in the divorce process. Unlike prenuptial agreements, or “prenups,” which are signed before a marriage begins, postnuptial agreements are signed after a couple is married. As a result, postnuptial agreements face some additional legal restrictions.
Laws
Validity: Postnuptial contracts or settlements must be procedurally and substantively fair and equitable both at the time of their execution and at the time of their enforcement.[2]
Prenup v. Postnup: A postnuptial agreement can cover the same subjects as a prenuptial agreement. Neither prenuptial nor postnuptial agreements may determine the rights of any child of the spouses to child support from either spouse or rights of child custody or parenting time.[3]
Legal counsel: A postnuptial agreement is valid and enforceable only if separate legal counsel represents each spouse at the time of its execution.[4]
Enforceability: A postnuptial agreement is presumed to be unenforceable if either party commences an action for a legal separation or dissolution within two years of its execution unless the spouse seeks to enforce the postnuptial contract or settlement can establish that the postnuptial agreement or settlement is fair and equitable.[5]