5 Things a Florida Prenuptial Agreement Cannot Legally Do
Thinking a prenup lets you contract your way around anything you don’t want to deal with later? Not quite. Florida law gives couples wide latitude to customize a premarital agreement, but that flexibility has real limits. A handful of provisions simply won’t hold up in court, no matter how carefully worded or how enthusiastically both parties agreed to them at the time.
Why Florida Law Draws These Lines At All
Florida’s premarital agreement statute, cited as the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act under Florida Statute Section 61.079, gives couples significant freedom to define their own financial terms. But the same statute also protects certain rights that the law considers too important to bargain away, particularly when children or basic fairness during litigation are involved. Understanding where those lines sit can save both parties real frustration down the road.
What a Florida Prenup Cannot Legally Do
A few provisions come up again and again as unenforceable, regardless of how they’re drafted. Consider the following:
- Determine child support in advance. Under Florida Statute Section 61.079, the right of a child to support may not be adversely affected by a premarital agreement, meaning support gets calculated based on the child’s actual needs at the time, not a number agreed to years earlier.
- Decide custody or parenting time ahead of time. Florida courts determine these matters based on the child’s best interests at the time of the divorce, not based on what parents predicted before the child was even born.
- Waive temporary alimony entirely. While permanent alimony can generally be waived, Florida courts have been reluctant to enforce waivers of temporary support needed during the divorce process itself, particularly if one spouse would otherwise be left without basic means to get by.
- Encourage divorce through financial incentives. Provisions that seem designed to reward or encourage the marriage’s dissolution, rather than simply plan for its possibility, tend to draw skepticism from courts.
- Bind a spouse who didn’t sign voluntarily or with full financial disclosure. An agreement signed under duress, coercion, or without a fair understanding of the other spouse’s finances can be challenged and potentially thrown out entirely.
Why These Limits Actually Protect Both Spouses
These restrictions aren’t just legal technicalities. They exist to make sure children’s needs get evaluated based on real circumstances rather than outdated predictions, and to prevent one spouse from using a moment of financial leverage before marriage to permanently disadvantage the other. A prenup built with these boundaries in mind tends to hold up far better than one that tries to push past them.
Let’s Make Sure Your Agreement Actually Holds Up
Understanding what a prenuptial agreement can and cannot legally accomplish matters just as much as deciding what you want it to say. Our Boca Raton prenuptial agreement attorneys at Schwartz l White can help you draft an agreement built to actually hold up if it’s ever needed. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team to discuss next steps.
Source:
flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/61.079
