Are Prenuptial Agreements Binding in Texas?

Prenuptial agreements may offer an attractive arrangement should a couple want to protect assets in the case their marriage is dissolved. Texan law largely protects these rights, and offers oversight to ensure that fair practices are enforced.

Is it Binding?

• Prenuptial agreements are binding in Texas if they can be substantiated as responsible. This falls under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, which Texas has applied to state policy. This means that each party was of sound mind when the agreement was drafted, and each had a thorough knowledge of the finances and assets of the other. The document must also be voluntary for both partners; coerced prenuptial agreement is not valid.

Features

• Texas acknowledges a prenuptial agreement upon the first day that a couple is formally married. It cannot be a verbal agreement in Texas. The prenuptial agreement must be in writing and signed by each person. The couple has the option of changing its provisions during the course of their marriage, but these too must be in written form. Texas does not require the presence of a lawyer for a prenuptial agreement.

Considerations

• In establishing the validity of a prenuptial agreement, Texas law may look to other factors. These include the age and maturity of the individuals and the influence of children, as well as former marriages that the individuals had been party to. Texas also ensures that the document is not so "one-sided" as to prevent it from being a conflict of interest for one or both parties.