What a Prenup Can Cover
- Separate vs. marital property. Keep premarital assets, a business, or a property clearly yours.
- Future acquisitions and earnings. Classify what you earn or inherit during the marriage as separate, if you choose.
- Debt. Keep each spouse’s debts their own.
- Alimony. Decide in advance whether either spouse can claim support, and how much.
- Death and your estate. Waive or shape your spouse’s claim on your estate (the elective share and homestead), to protect children from a prior relationship.
What It Protects (the Questions People Ask)
Assets you get after the wedding? Yes, if drafted to, including an inheritance or the growth of a business. Your spouse’s debt? Yes, it can keep their creditors off your separate property. Future earnings? Yes, with the right language. These are the high-value uses most couples never think to include.
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A prenup cannot decide child support or custody in advance; Florida sets those by the child’s best interests later. It also cannot include anything illegal, and grossly one-sided terms (or terms signed under pressure, without disclosure) can be struck down. The agreement that holds up is the fair one: full disclosure, independent advice for each person, signed well before the wedding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Prenup Protect Assets I Get After Marriage?
It can, if you draft it that way. A prenup can classify future acquisitions, an inheritance you receive during the marriage, the growth of a business, or future earnings, as separate property, so they do not become marital. This is one of the most valuable and most overlooked uses. Without it, Florida law may treat much of what you build during the marriage as shared.
Does a Prenup Protect Me From My Spouse’s Debt?
Yes, a prenup can keep each spouse’s debts their own, so a creditor of one cannot look to the other or to property the agreement makes separate. For someone marrying a partner with student loans, business debt, or a rocky financial history, this alone can justify the agreement.
Can a Prenup Cover What Happens at Death, Not Just Divorce?
Yes, and people forget this. In Florida a surviving spouse can claim about 30% of your estate (the elective share) plus homestead rights regardless of your will, unless waived. A prenup is how you waive or shape those rights, essential for protecting children from a prior relationship. It works alongside your will and trust, not instead of them.
What Can’t a Prenup Do?
It cannot decide child support or custody in advance, Florida determines those by the child’s best interests at the time, no matter what the agreement says. It also cannot include anything illegal or that encourages divorce, and terms that are grossly unfair or signed under pressure can be struck down. A "fair" prenup, with full disclosure and independent advice for each person, is the one that holds up.
Updated on June 9, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. General information about Florida law, not legal advice. Each spouse should have independent counsel. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.