Prenuptial Agreements in Washington State

We draft a lot of prenuptial agreements for folks, or we review them. In Washington State, it’s critical that both parties have an attorney. It’s really not worth going through the process if each party is not represented.

So the typical process is: an attorney would prepare a draft of a prenuptial agreement and work with their client to make sure that that’s what the client is looking for. Then that draft would be provided to the fiancé and their attorney for review. That’s one of the critical elements — basically, representation.

The other aspect that’s critical in terms of getting things done with a prenuptial agreement is full disclosure of all of the assets. A prenuptial agreement here in Washington State is going to have a summary of both parties’ assets with values. And it’s critical that there be full disclosure. That’s something that could impede the enforceability later if it’s not there.

Lastly, I’d say the process is one where timeliness is also an element. I won’t get involved in prenuptial agreements that are basically right at the gun. So if we’re, you know, a couple of days before somebody’s getting married, or a week or so out, it’s too late in the game from my perspective. In that instance, we would advise clients to do a postnuptial agreement. The last-minute signings at the rehearsal dinner just don’t come out very well.