Postnuptial Agreement
Already married and want to formalise how your assets would be split? A postnuptial agreement is the same binding financial agreement as a prenup, just entered into after the wedding instead of before it - and it carries the same independent legal advice requirement for each of you.
A lot of people assume a binding financial agreement only makes sense before a wedding. It doesn't - it can be made at any point in a marriage, and a postnuptial agreement is exactly that.
What is a postnuptial agreement?
A postnuptial agreement (sometimes shortened to "postnup") is a binding financial agreement made under the Family Law Act, setting out how property, assets and finances would be divided if the marriage later ends. It's legally the same instrument as a prenup - the only difference is timing: a prenup is signed before the wedding, a postnuptial agreement after it. If you're not yet married, see our prenup template page instead.
Why couples get one after marriage
Circumstances change. A couple might not have thought about a prenup before the wedding, or their situation might have shifted since - one partner starting a business, an inheritance coming through, or simply wanting the same certainty a prenup would have given them, put in writing properly instead of left as an assumption.
The independent legal advice requirement still applies
A postnuptial agreement is held to the same standard as a prenup under the Family Law Act. It only takes effect once each person has received independent legal advice, from their own separate lawyer, about how it affects their rights and its advantages and disadvantages. See our binding financial agreement page for how we arrange that advice as part of the fully prepared option.
A postnuptial agreement is not enforceable simply because it's signed after the wedding rather than before it. Under the Family Law Act, each person must receive independent legal advice, from their own separate lawyer, about the effect of the agreement on their rights and its advantages and disadvantages, before it can take effect - exactly the same requirement that applies to a prenup.