Download New York Postnuptial Agreement Form [PDF]

The New York postnuptial agreement is a legal document that determines the rights and responsibilities of each spouse in relation to their individual and marital property. Each party will use the postnuptial agreement to provide a list of the assets and liabilities they have acquired until the moment of signing the agreement.

The parties mostly use the postnuptial agreement to determine how they will manage individual and marital property during the marriage. However, they can also use the document to determine how they will divide the property in case they get divorced.

The main difference between postnuptial and prenuptial agreements is about the moment parties sign the agreement. With a prenup agreement, the parties sign the document before they get married. However, with the postnup agreement, the parties must first be married before they can sign the agreement.

Laws and Legal Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in New York

The laws and legal requirements for a postnuptial agreement in New York are mainly outlined in court decisions and state laws since New York hasn’t adopted the Uniform Marital Agreement Act.

One of the crucial court decisions for determining the legality of the New York postnuptial agreement is Hershkowitz v. Levy (2021). The court took the stance that they should scrutinize the postnuptial agreement more closely compared to the regular contracts by providing the following:

“Thus, ‘[i]n view of the fiduciary relationship existing between spouses, [postnuptial] agreements are more closely scrutinized by the courts than ordinary contracts.’"

Signing Requirements for a Postnuptial Agreement in New York

The state law provides that postnuptial agreements in New York must be made in written form. Moreover, both spouses are required to sign the document.

The parties are not required to notarize the postnuptial agreement form. However, this step should be completed whenever possible since it will provide additional confirmation of the document’s authenticity. The notary public will confirm the identity of both spouses and confirm that they have both personally signed the agreement.

Postnuptial Agreement Enforcement in New York

The New York postnuptial agreement will be considered enforceable if all of the following requirements are met:

Postnuptial Agreement Enforcement Conditions

1) If each spouse enters the postnuptial agreement voluntarily, without coercion or duress,

2) If each spouse makes a complete and truthful disclosure of their financial status before signing the postnuptial agreement form,

3) If the rules about the property division (in case they are included in the document) are fair for both spouses

If one of these requirements is not met, the spouse can raise their claim before the court, and the court will declare the agreement or certain provisions of the agreement unenforceable.

What Can a Postnuptial Agreement in New York Cover?

The New York postnuptial agreement can cover multiple aspects of the parties' financial and non-financial relationship. However, when drafting the postnuptial agreement, the parties should make sure all the provisions of the agreement are in line with state law and public policy.

In this section, you can see the provisions that are most commonly included in the New York postnuptial agreement template:

Provisions in a Postnuptial Agreement

Provisions outlining the rights and responsibilities of each spouse in connection with their individual and marital property
Right to buy, sell, lease, transfer, mortgage, and manage the property acquired by the parties during the marriage
Rules on how the property will be divided in case of a marriage dissolution, divorce, death, or any similar event.
Matters related to spousal support, insurance, pension, and more

Postnuptial Agreement in New York: Validity Criteria

The first validity criteria for the New York postnuptial agreement is connected with the formality criteria set by the state law. This means that the postnuptial agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties.

In addition, the validity of the postnuptial agreement also depends on the existence of the marriage. In simple words, the postnuptial agreement will be valid only if the parties are married at the moment of signing it.