Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements
A good prenuptial or postnuptial agreement isn't a sign of doubt. It's a clear, private decision about money made while both people are calm and on the same side. We're prenup lawyers in Bellevue, and we draft and review prenups and postnups for couples across the Puget Sound region. Because the firm also handles business and estate planning, the agreement fits the rest of your plan.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
2
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Prenuptial agreement attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle couples
A prenuptial agreement is signed before marriage; a postnuptial after. Both do the same basic job: they decide in advance how property and support will be treated, instead of leaving it to Washington's community-property rules and a future court. Washington has not adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, so whether one of these agreements holds up is governed by case law, and the requirements are strict. We draft agreements built to survive a challenge, and we review the one your fiance's lawyer sent before you sign it.
These agreements are simple in purpose and unforgiving in execution. We define what's separate and what's community; we build the agreement to meet Washington's fairness requirements; we keep it inside what the law allows it to decide; we handle postnuptial agreements and their extra scrutiny; and we line it up with your will and estate plan.
What a prenup or postnup actually does
At its simplest, one of these agreements decides ahead of time what belongs to whom. In a community-property state like Washington, income and assets acquired during marriage are generally shared, and an agreement can change that, keeping a premarital home, a family business, an inheritance, or a professional practice as separate property. It can also set or waive spousal maintenance and protect children from a prior marriage. It's most useful for second marriages, family businesses, and anyone bringing significant separate property into a marriage.
Making it enforceable in Washington
This is where most agreements fail or hold. Washington hasn't adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, so enforceability comes from case law, chiefly In re Marriage of Matson, 107 Wn.2d 479 (1986), which applies a two-part test. The first question is whether the agreement makes a fair and reasonable provision for the spouse it's being enforced against. If it does, it stands. If it doesn't, it survives only if it was procedurally fair: full disclosure of each person's assets, a voluntary signing with independent advice, and enough time before the wedding to think it over. Later cases like In re Marriage of Bernard, 165 Wn.2d 895 (2009) show how a one-sided, last-minute agreement gets thrown out. We build in the procedural protections from the start, so the agreement can hold even if its terms favor one of you.
What these agreements can and can't decide
An agreement can settle property characterization, maintenance, and what happens at death. It cannot decide child support or custody. Those belong to the children, not the parents, and a court always retains the power to set them by the child's best interests, no matter what a prenup says. An agreement also can't be unconscionable or built on hidden assets. We keep the document inside the lines so a court enforces it instead of setting it aside.
Postnuptial agreements and the extra scrutiny
A postnuptial agreement does similar work after the wedding, often when a business is acquired, an inheritance arrives, or a couple reconciles after a rough patch. Washington courts look harder at postnups, because once married, spouses owe each other a duty of good faith, which raises the bar for fairness and disclosure. We draft postnups with that heightened standard in mind, so the agreement is built to hold rather than to be regretted.
Coordinating with your estate plan
A prenup that contradicts your will causes problems later, not sooner. Because the firm handles estate planning too, we make sure the agreement, your will, any trusts, and a community property agreement all say the same thing. For blended families especially, that alignment is what keeps a death or divorce from reopening questions everyone thought were settled. One team, one consistent plan.
Sixty years representing Pacific Northwest families, often the same families whose businesses, trusts, and estates the firm already handles. When a marriage agreement touches a company or a trust, you're not starting over with a stranger.
Continuity, not a hand-off.
Many family-law clients are already firm clients. The attorney drafting your agreement may be the one who set up the business or the trust it's meant to protect, which means less time spent explaining and fewer surprises.
Settlement-minded, trial-ready.
We resolve most family-law matters without a trial, because it's better for the family and the budget. But when a case has to be tried, the firm's litigators are ready, and the other side knows it.
Straight about what's ahead.
These matters are hard enough without a lawyer overselling. We give you a clear picture of what an agreement can and can't do, and what it takes to make it hold up.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Are prenuptial agreements enforceable in Washington?
Yes, when they're done right. Washington hasn't adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, so courts apply case law, mainly the two-part test from In re Marriage of Matson, 107 Wn.2d 479 (1986). An agreement with fair terms is enforced. One that favors one spouse can still hold, but only if it was fairly made, with full disclosure and a voluntary signing on independent advice. Skip those protections on a one-sided agreement and a court can set it aside.
What makes a prenup invalid?
Usually a fairness or process failure. The common ones are hiding assets, not giving the other person their own lawyer, springing the agreement days before the wedding, or terms so lopsided they're unconscionable. Under Matson and later cases like In re Marriage of Bernard, 165 Wn.2d 895 (2009), any of these can sink an agreement whose terms favor one side. We build the agreement to avoid every one of them.
Can a prenup decide child custody or child support?
No. Custody and child support belong to the children, not the parents, and a court always keeps the power to decide them by the child's best interests. A prenup can address property and spousal maintenance, but any attempt to pre-decide child support or a parenting plan won't be enforced. We keep those issues out of the agreement so the rest stays solid.
Are postnuptial agreements enforceable in Washington?
Yes, when they're done right, and the bar is higher than for a prenup. A postnup is the same kind of agreement, signed after the wedding instead of before. Couples use them when a business is acquired, an inheritance comes in, or they're rebuilding after a hard stretch. Because spouses owe each other a duty of good faith once married, Washington courts scrutinize postnups more closely than prenups, so disclosure and fairness matter even more. We draft them to that higher standard.
Do we each need our own lawyer?
You really should, and it's not a formality. Independent counsel for each person is one of the strongest signs an agreement was entered fairly, and its absence is one of the fastest ways to get an agreement thrown out. One lawyer can't represent both sides of a deal with opposing interests. We represent one of you and make sure the other has the chance to get their own advice.
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Tell us whether you're planning a prenup, considering a postnup, or reviewing one you've been handed. The first conversation is confidential.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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