Prenuptial Agreement - Massachusetts

MASSACHUSETTS PRENUPTIAL (ANTENUPTIAL) AGREEMENT

Use gate. Use only for two people who intend to marry. Complete this agreement, all schedules, and counsel review well before the wedding. Do not use it as a postnuptial agreement, separation agreement, divorce judgment, or substitute for a qualified retirement-plan order.

1. PARTIES, MARRIAGE, AND PROCESS RECORD

This Agreement is made on [__/__/____] by:

Intended marriage date and place: [________________________________]

First complete draft delivered to Party A: [__/__/____]

First complete draft delivered to Party B: [__/__/____]

Final valued disclosures delivered: Party A [__/__/____] / Party B [__/__/____]

Each Party confirms that:

☐ the Party selected counsel independently and had adequate time to obtain advice;

☐ counsel explained the material rights available without this Agreement, including the Massachusetts divorce-property and alimony framework;

☐ the Party understands the rights modified or waived below;

☐ no wedding deadline, threat, fraud, coercion, or undisclosed side agreement caused the Party to sign; and

☐ the Party received and reviewed the other Party's complete financial schedule before signing.

2. MASSACHUSETTS ENFORCEABILITY FRAMEWORK

The Parties intend this Agreement to be a written antenuptial contract under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209, § 25. They understand that Massachusetts courts examine whether an agreement was fair and reasonable when executed and whether enforcement remains conscionable at divorce. A court does not invalidate an agreement merely because it is one-sided or differs from an award under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, § 34, but an agreement cannot safely be drafted to strip a spouse of substantially all marital interests or leave that spouse without sufficient property, maintenance, or appropriate employment for support. DeMatteo v. DeMatteo, 436 Mass. 18 (2002); Rudnick v. Rudnick, No. 22-P-133 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 30, 2023).

3. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Schedules A and B are incorporated into this Agreement. Each schedule must identify, with good-faith current values:

☐ real estate, ownership form, mortgages, and liens;

☐ bank, brokerage, retirement, deferred-compensation, digital-asset, and insurance interests;

☐ business, partnership, trust, expectancy, option, and carried-interest interests;

☐ income, benefits, contingent compensation, and tax attributes;

☐ debts, guaranties, claims, judgments, support duties, and other liabilities; and

☐ material valuation assumptions and documents supplied for review.

Each Party represents that the Party's schedule is complete and materially accurate as of [__/__/____]. Any material change before the wedding must be disclosed in a dated written supplement signed by both Parties.

4. PROPERTY EXISTING BEFORE MARRIAGE

4.1 Party A Property

The property identified in Schedule A remains Party A's property, together with proceeds and replacements, subject to the appreciation, contribution, and title elections below.

4.2 Party B Property

The property identified in Schedule B remains Party B's property, together with proceeds and replacements, subject to the appreciation, contribution, and title elections below.

4.3 Appreciation and Income — select deliberately

For each separately owned asset, select and describe the intended treatment in the schedules:

☐ passive appreciation and income remain separate;

☐ appreciation attributable to either Party's labor or marital contributions is shared as follows: [________________________________]; or

☐ another asset-specific rule applies: [________________________________].

4.4 Joint Title and Gifts

Joint title alone will have this agreed effect: [CREATE SHARED OWNERSHIP / CREATE A REBUTTABLE GIFT RECORD / NO CLASSIFICATION CHANGE WITHOUT A SEPARATE WRITING / OTHER: ________________________________].

A transfer between the Parties intended as a gift should be documented in a separate signed writing identifying the property and intended ownership.

5. PROPERTY ACQUIRED DURING MARRIAGE

Property acquired during marriage will be classified as follows:

☐ property titled jointly is shared in the stated title percentages;

☐ property acquired from traceable separate property remains separate;

☐ earnings during marriage are [SEPARATE / SHARED / ALLOCATED AS FOLLOWS: ________________________________]; and

☐ other classification rule: [________________________________].

The Parties will keep records sufficient to apply these elections. This Agreement does not determine a creditor's rights or bind a third party that is not a party to it.

6. MARITAL RESIDENCE

For each marital residence, the Parties will sign a property schedule stating:

The title, financing documents, estate plan, and this Agreement must be reviewed together. No Party may deliberately use title or a controlled entity to defeat an ownership interest promised by this Agreement.

7. DEBTS AND LIABILITIES

Each Party remains responsible between the Parties for debts listed on that Party's schedule unless a signed writing states otherwise. Joint debts will be allocated as follows: [________________________________]. This allocation does not release either Party from liability to a creditor.

8. DIVORCE PROPERTY PROVISION

If the marriage ends by divorce, the Parties elect:

☐ each Party retains that Party's separate property and receives the following shared property or settlement: [________________________________];

☐ shared property is divided under this formula: [________________________________]; or

☐ the Parties reserve property division for agreement or court determination under then-current Massachusetts law.

Valuation date, appraiser selection, and payment security: [________________________________]

The Parties intend the retained property and support package, considered together, to preserve meaningful marital interests and remain capable of support at enforcement.

9. ALIMONY AND SUPPORT — select one

☐ Reserved. Neither Party waives the right to seek alimony under then-current Massachusetts law.

☐ Defined support. [PARTY] will pay [PARTY] $[________] per [________] for [________], subject to these termination, security, tax, and modification terms: [________________________________].

☐ Limited waiver. The Parties waive alimony only if the property and other support provided at enforcement leave each Party with sufficient property, maintenance, or appropriate employment for support. Counsel has separately explained the DeMatteo second-look risk.

No term may limit a child's right to support or predetermine custody or parenting issues.

10. DEATH AND ESTATE-PLAN ELECTIONS

Do not infer a blanket estate waiver from a divorce provision. Select each intended election after estate counsel reviews Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 191, § 15, beneficiary designations, federal retirement law, and the Parties' actual plans.

☐ No surviving-spouse rights are waived by this Agreement.

☐ Party A waives only these identified rights in Party B's estate: [________________________________].

☐ Party B waives only these identified rights in Party A's estate: [________________________________].

☐ Each Party will provide the other these death benefits: [________________________________].

Retirement-plan and beneficiary rights requiring a separate plan-compliant consent are not waived merely by this Agreement.

11. CHAPTER 209 PROPERTY SCHEDULE AND RECORDING REVIEW

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209, § 26 requires a sufficiently clear schedule of property intended to be affected and addresses recording before marriage or within ninety days afterward. It also requires recording in every registry district where related land is located and limits the effect of nonrecording beyond the Parties, heirs, and personal representatives.

Before signing, counsel must select the treatment of §§ 25–26 for this agreement:

☐ Schedules A and B contain the sufficiently clear property descriptions required for the intended statutory settlement.

☐ Recording is required or prudent in: [REGISTRY DISTRICT(S): ________________________________].

☐ Recording is not being used because: [COUNSEL'S GROUNDED REASON: ________________________________].

Responsible filing counsel: [________________________________]

Recording deadline and proof location: [________________________________]

12. REVIEW AT MATERIAL EVENTS

The Parties will review the Agreement with independent counsel after any material event selected below:

☐ birth or adoption of a child;

☐ disabling illness or retirement;

☐ acquisition or sale of a residence or business;

☐ material inheritance, trust distribution, or liquidity event;

☐ relocation or substantial income change; or

☐ [____]-year anniversary.

A review does not amend the Agreement. Any amendment or revocation must be in a signed writing reviewed for the law applicable when it is made. A post-marriage amendment may require analysis under Massachusetts postnuptial-agreement law rather than this antenuptial form.

13. GENERAL TERMS

13.1 Effective Time

This Agreement becomes operative only upon the Parties' marriage to each other.

13.2 Governing Law

Massachusetts law governs, subject to any mandatory law applicable to property, creditors, retirement benefits, support, or proceedings in another jurisdiction.

13.3 Entire Agreement; No Oral Side Terms

This Agreement and its signed schedules contain the Parties' entire antenuptial agreement. No oral promise changes it.

13.4 Severability

If a term is unenforceable, a court may enforce the remainder only to the extent consistent with Massachusetts law and the Parties' lawful intent. This clause does not predetermine the remedy or authorize a court to create an omitted bargain.

13.5 Fees and Remedies

Each Party bears that Party's own negotiation costs unless a signed schedule provides otherwise. Fees, interim support, discovery, and remedies in any later proceeding remain subject to then-current law and court order; this Agreement does not guarantee automatic fee shifting, specific performance, damages, or injunctive relief.

14. SIGNATURES

The Parties sign after reviewing the complete Agreement and all schedules.

Counsel Certifications

Each counsel may attach a separate certification describing representation, advice, disclosure review, negotiation, and execution. Counsel certification is not a substitute for the Parties' informed and voluntary agreement.

15. OPTIONAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Notarization is included as an identity and execution record, not as a statement that notarization alone establishes enforceability.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

County of [________________________________]

On [__/__/____], before me, the undersigned notary public, personally appeared [________________________________], proved identity through satisfactory evidence, and acknowledged signing this instrument voluntarily for its stated purpose.

Notary Public: ______________________________

My commission expires: [__/__/____]

Use a separate acknowledgment for each Party if they sign separately. Confirm the current Massachusetts notarial certificate and procedure under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 222 before execution.

16. SCHEDULES

• Schedule A — Party A financial disclosure and proposed classification
• Schedule B — Party B financial disclosure and proposed classification
• Schedule C — Divorce property and support elections
• Schedule D — Estate and death-benefit elections
• Schedule E — Real-property descriptions and recording plan
• Schedule F — Counsel process and document-delivery record

Sources and References

• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209, § 25: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter209/Section25
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209, § 26: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter209/Section26
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, § 34: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208/Section34
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 191, § 15: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter191/Section15
• DeMatteo v. DeMatteo, 436 Mass. 18 (2002)
• Rudnick v. Rudnick, No. 22-P-133 (Mass. App. Ct. Mar. 30, 2023)