Texas Prenuptial Agreements

Statutes

• Texas Family Code Section 4.002 (Formalities)
• Texas Family Code Section 4.003 (Content)
• Texas Family Code Section 4.005 (Amendment or revocation)
• Texas Family Code Section 4.006 (Enforcement)

Content

Texas law dictates the appropriate content for prenuptial agreements.

What can be included in the prenuptial agreement:

• Division of property in case of separation, divorce, or death;
• The right to: buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security interest in, mortgage, encumber, dispose of, or otherwise manage and control property;
• Spousal support changes or elimination of support;
• The making of a will, trust, or other arrangements to carry out the agreement terms;
• The ownership rights in and distribution of the death benefit from a life insurance policy; and
• Choice of law decisions for the agreement.

What can't be included:

• Any matter that involves criminal activity or is against public policy; and
• Any terms that adversely affect a child's rights for child support.

Amendment/ Revocation

After marriage, you can make changes to the prenuptial agreement only by a written agreement between the parties. The amended agreement or revocation is enforceable without consideration.

Enforcement

There are numerous reasons why a prenuptial agreement may be invalid. If the enforceability of the agreement is in question, the party must prove that they didn't sign the agreement voluntarily. Or that the agreement was unconscionable when they signed it and before signing the agreement, the party:

• Didn't receive disclosure of the property/ financial obligations of the other party;
• Didn't waive (in writing) their right to the disclosure of the other party's obligations; and
• Didn't have or reasonably couldn't have had knowledge of the other party's obligations.