Marital agreements for individuals and families with assets to protect. In New York, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements govern the character of property during the marriage and the division on divorce — but enforceability depends on execution formalities under Domestic Relations Law § 236(B)(3), full and fair financial disclosure, representation by independent counsel, timing relative to the wedding, and substantive fairness measured both at execution and at the moment of enforcement. New York applies both procedural unconscionability and manifest unfairness tests, and will set aside agreements that fail either, however carefully they were drafted. Michel Law drafts, reviews, and negotiates agreements that will stand up in court years after they are signed, and litigates to enforce or set aside agreements others drafted. The firm has particular depth in generational-wealth protection — where family trust interests, closely-held business shares, inherited real property, or future expectancies must be insulated from equitable distribution; and in postnuptial agreements that reset the economic terms of a marriage after a liquidity event, a business sale, an inheritance, or a reconciliation after separation. Agreements that reference waiver of spousal maintenance, allocation of appreciation on separate property, choice-of-law for a multi-state couple, or treatment of commingled accounts need careful drafting because each is a frequent collateral attack. These insights address what makes a New York prenup enforceable, when a postnuptial agreement is the right instrument, how generational wealth is protected through marital contracting, the sunset-and-review clauses sophisticated couples use, and the drafting choices that separate agreements that hold from agreements that collapse at the moment they matter most.
A New York prenup is only as useful as the clauses that survive challenge. The DRL § 236(B)(3) framework, the clauses that hold up, the clauses that fail, and the signing-day posture that decides which category each falls into.
Generational wealth requires more than trusts and estate planning. A New York attorney explains how prenuptial agreements protect family wealth across marriages and generations.
Are prenuptial agreements enforceable in New York? A New York attorney explains what courts require, the most common challenges, and how to draft a prenup that actually holds up.
Postnuptial agreements in New York let married couples define property rights mid-marriage. A New York attorney explains when they make sense and what courts require for enforceability.