Sarah Kauffman

Sarah is First's Founding Head of Operations and Marketing

73 articles

01 Prenup Basics Are Prenups Unromantic? What the Financial Disclosure Rule Requires Every enforceable prenup requires full financial disclosure under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, making honesty about money a legal condition, not an optional nicety.
Sarah Kauffman Oct 2, 2026
02 Law Demystified Prenup Community Property Rules: What Happens to Inherited Money and Commingled Assets Nine U.S. states follow community property law, and in those states property acquired by gift or inheritance is normally the receiving spouse's separate property, per the IRS.
Sarah Kauffman Oct 2, 2026
03 Law Demystified Can You Get a Prenup With Only One Lawyer? What Independent Counsel Requirements Mean Most states let a couple sign a prenup with one lawyer or none, but a single attorney cannot ethically represent both partners under ABA Model Rule 1.7.
Sarah Kauffman Oct 2, 2026
04 Trends Do Prenups Lower Marital Satisfaction? What the 2026 Study Found The 2026 Family Relations study of 2,000 married Americans was observational, so it cannot show that prenups cause lower satisfaction, and its author found no link among couples who communicate well.
Sarah Kauffman Oct 2, 2026
05 Planning What a parental leave policy doesn't decide for you Twelve weeks is an answer to a question about time. It is not an answer to who goes back first, what the at-home partner's day looks like, or what happens when the weeks run out.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 29, 2026
06 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Indiana: The Rules, the Costs, and How to Get One Indiana's premarital agreement statute (IC 31-11-3) asks only that a prenup be in writing and signed by both partners, with no notary or witnesses required.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 29, 2026
07 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Maryland: The Rules, the Costs, and How to Get One Maryland never adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, so its courts judge a prenup by whether it was made without overreaching, under Cannon v. Cannon (2005).
Sarah Kauffman Sep 28, 2026
08 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Georgia: The Rules, the Costs, and How to Get One Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 19-3-62) requires an antenuptial agreement to be in writing, signed by both partners, and attested by two witnesses, one a notary.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 28, 2026
09 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Ohio: The Rules, the Costs, and How to Get One Ohio never adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, so the Supreme Court of Ohio's decision in Gross v. Gross sets the test for whether a prenup holds up.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 28, 2026
10 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Virginia: The Rules, the Costs, and How to Get One Virginia's Premarital Agreement Act, in effect since 1985, requires only a written agreement signed by both partners, and it takes effect the day you marry.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 28, 2026
11 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Colorado: The Rules, the Costs, and How to Get One Colorado's Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act (C.R.S. § 14-2-309) lets a court refuse to enforce a prenup on any one of four independent grounds.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 28, 2026
12 Planning What "we'll figure it out" costs parents Almost two-thirds of couples report a decline in relationship satisfaction in the three years after having a baby, according to the Gottman Institute.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 28, 2026
13 Education Women and Prenups: Why More Women Now See Financial Protection as Empowerment A 2025 YouGov survey found women are now more likely than men to call a prenup a "good idea," citing asset and children's financial security.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 25, 2026
14 Law Demystified How Prenup Rules Differ in the 21 States That Haven't Adopted the UPAA Twenty-nine states plus D.C. have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, according to the Uniform Law Commission; in the other 21 states, courts apply their own enforceability tests, many stricter than the UPAA baseline.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 24, 2026
15 Education Prenup Questionnaire: What Information You'll Need Before You Start Every state requires some level of financial disclosure for a prenup to hold up, so an intake questionnaire starts by gathering each partner's assets, debts, income, and obligations.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 23, 2026
16 Law Demystified What "Typical" Prenup Terms Look Like: The Clauses Most Couples Include Most prenups are built from the same handful of clauses: separate property, marital property, debt, spousal support, and estate rights, per the Uniform Law Commission's model act.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 22, 2026
17 Law Demystified Prenuptial Agreements in South Carolina: Rules, Enforceability, and What One Costs South Carolina recognizes prenups under S.C. Code § 20-3-630, and courts weigh enforceability using the three-part test from Hardee v. Hardee (2003).
Sarah Kauffman Sep 21, 2026
18 Education What a Peer-Reviewed Study Found About Changing Minds on Prenups A 2026 study in Law and Human Behavior found that a person's beliefs about prenups, not their age or income, best predict their attitude toward one.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 21, 2026
19 Education Easy and Same-Day Prenups: What They Cost and How Fast You Can Really Sign Guided online prenup platforms let most couples finish a draft in a few hours, but state waiting periods, not the software, set the earliest date you can sign.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 21, 2026
20 Education Can You Get a Prenup Online, and Will It Hold Up? What Digital Signing Requires Electronic signatures are legally recognized in every U.S. state under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, and an online prenup can be enforceable when it meets your state's rules.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 20, 2026
21 Education Prenup vs. Postnup Cost: What Each One Really Costs and Why Timing Changes the Price Traditional attorney-drafted agreements run $3,000 to $10,000 or more per couple, while flat-fee online prenup platforms start around $649, according to the 2025 Clio Legal Trends Report and Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 20, 2026
22 Law Demystified Is an Online Prenup Legal? What Decides Whether It Holds Up in Court Online prenups are legal in every U.S. state, and electronic signatures carry the same legal weight as ink under the federal ESIGN Act and state UETA law.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 18, 2026
23 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Utah: Rules, Validity, and How to Get One Utah's premarital agreement rules live in Utah Code Title 81, Chapter 3, Part 2, renumbered from Title 30, Chapter 8 effective September 1, 2024.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 16, 2026
24 Education Spousal Support in a Prenup: Waivers, Caps, and What Courts Allow Federal tax law changed in 2019: alimony under agreements signed after December 31, 2018 is no longer deductible by the payer or taxable to the recipient, per the IRS.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 16, 2026
25 Education Prenups and Financial Protection: Debt, Two Incomes, and Who Owes What A prenup gives financial protection from a partner's debt and sorts two incomes: 53% of engaged Americans under 45 had signed one by May 2026.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 16, 2026
26 Law Demystified Prenuptial Agreements in Oregon: What Couples Should Know Before the Wedding A prenuptial agreement in Oregon is governed by the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, and Oregon splits marital property by what is fair, not 50/50.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 16, 2026
27 Planning Prenups and Estate Planning: How a Prenup Works With Your Will, Trust, and Beneficiaries A prenup and estate planning do different jobs: the prenup defines what you own, while your will, trust, and beneficiary forms decide where it goes at death.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 16, 2026
28 Trends What Does a Prenup Protect? The Modern Asset Inventory Crypto wallets, frozen embryos, pets, student debt and song lyrics: what a modern prenup actually protects, and how your state's default rules treat each one.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 2, 2026
29 Education Prenup in Illinois: What the Law Requires, What It Covers, and What It Costs Illinois prenups fall under the Illinois Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, which turns on voluntary signing and fair, reasonable financial disclosure.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 24, 2026
30 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Michigan: What Couples Need to Know Before the Wedding Michigan enforces prenups under MCL 557.28 and Rinvelt v. Rinvelt, provided the agreement is voluntary, fully disclosed, and not unconscionable.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 23, 2026
31 Education Prenup in New Jersey: What Equitable Distribution Means and How a Prenup Lets You Decide Instead New Jersey prenups fall under the Uniform Premarital and Pre-Civil Union Agreement Act, which requires a signed agreement and full financial disclosure.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 23, 2026
32 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Pennsylvania: What Couples Need to Know Before the Wedding Pennsylvania enforces prenups under 23 Pa.C.S. 3106, and courts do not review terms for fairness once consent and disclosure are established.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 23, 2026
33 Planning Prenup for Finance Professionals Bonuses accounted for roughly 42% of securities-industry wages, according to the New York State Comptroller's 2026 estimate, which means a finance professional's total pay is not what a paycheck alone shows. Here's how finance professionals can handle bonuses plus options, carry, and more in their prenup.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 28, 2026
34 Planning Prenuptial Agreements in Wisconsin: The Only Other Community Property State You Haven't Heard About Wisconsin is one of nine community property states, and its Marital Property Act treats most assets acquired during marriage as jointly owned unless a prenup under Wis. Stat. § 766.58 says otherwise.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 26, 2026
35 Planning Prenuptial Agreements in Tennessee: Formation Rules, Marital Property, and How to Get Started Under Tennessee Code § 36-3-501, a prenup is binding if a court finds it was entered freely, knowledgeably, in good faith, and without duress.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 26, 2026
36 Law Demystified Prenup vs. Cohabitation Agreement vs. Domestic Partnership: Which Applies If You're Not Married Yet A prenup only takes effect once a couple marries; unmarried couples who want something enforceable now use a cohabitation agreement instead, since marriage is the line that separates the two documents.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 26, 2026
37 Planning Financial Advisors Now Recommend Prenups: What It Means When Planning Raises the Topic A Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg found that 53% of engaged or married Americans under age 45 said they had signed a prenup as of May 2026, and advisors are increasingly raising the topic as routine financial planning.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 24, 2026
38 Trends Reality TV and the Prenup Conversation: Why It Still Feels Like a Commitment Test (and How to Reframe It) As of 2026, 53% of U.S. couple under age 45 have signed a prenup, up from 42% a year earlier, according to a Harris Poll reported by Axios. However, the emotion around asking has moved slower than the numbers.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 21, 2026
39 Planning What Is the Best Online Prenup Service? (2026) The best online prenup service is the one that meets your state's enforceability rules. Five criteria to judge any platform, plus 2026 flat-fee prices.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 21, 2026
40 Planning DIY Prenup vs. Attorney-Reviewed vs. Guided Online: What Each Path Costs You in Time and Enforceability Traditional two-attorney prenups run roughly $3,000 to $10,000 per couple or more, while flat-fee guided online platforms start around $649 with notarization, according to the 2025 Clio Legal Trends Report and First's published pricing.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 4, 2026
41 Law Demystified Do Prenups Actually Work? What Enforceable Really Means in Practice Prenuptial agreements are recognized in all 50 states and D.C., and courts routinely uphold them when they are properly drafted, finances are fully disclosed, and are signed without pressure. This is why 53% of engaged and married couples under age 45 have signed prenups, according to a May 2026 Harris Poll conducted for Bloomberg.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 21, 2026
42 Law Demystified Prenups for Couples in a Significant Income Gap: Texas Edition Texas is one of nine community property states, meaning income earned during marriage is presumed jointly owned unless a prenup, under Texas Family Code Chapter 4, says otherwise.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 8, 2026
43 Law Demystified Does a Prenup Have to Be Filed With Your Marriage License? Where a Prenup Actually Lives A prenup is a private contract that becomes effective upon marriage under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act; it is not filed with your marriage license or with any court to be valid.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 5, 2026
44 News Half of U.S. Adults Now Say They'd Sign a Prenup: What the Attitude Shift Does and Doesn't Mean Roughly 50% of U.S. adults said they support the use of prenups, according to a 2023 Harris Poll for Axios, up from 42% the year before, though only about 1 in 5 married couples has one.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 4, 2026
45 Planning Why Viral Prenup Advice on TikTok Can Steer You Wrong: What #PrenupTalk Leaves Out Social media has made prenups a mainstream conversation. But viral prenup advice can be misleading because enforceability depends on state-specific rules, full financial disclosure, voluntary signing, timing requirements, and limits such as the inability to waive child support or predetermine custody.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 1, 2026
46 Prenup Basics What Happens to Premarital Assets That Disappear During Marriage? A Prenup Gap Explained Under many states’ default divorce-property rules, a separate-property claim often requires tracing the asset to a separate source; if it is spent, retitled, or commingled beyond tracing, the claim may be lost or reduced. A well-drafted prenup defines what remains separate and how commingling, proceeds, substitutions, and appreciation are treated, subject to governing state law.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 14, 2026
47 Planning How to Store Your Prenup After It's Signed: Soft Copies, Hard Copies, and Redundancy A prenup does not need to be filed with any court to be valid; it is a private contract you store yourself, ideally using the 3-2-1 backup rule popularized by photographer Peter Krogh.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 22, 2026
48 Law Demystified Does It Matter Where You Sign Your Prenup? How Jurisdiction Affects Enforceability Prenups are recognized in all 50 states and D.C., but only 29 states plus D.C. have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, so where you sign can shape how your agreement is enforced. For transferability across states, the biggest practical safeguards are a clear choice-of-law clause, full financial disclosure, adequate time before signing, voluntary execution, and separate legal counsel where advisable or required.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 24, 2026
49 Law Demystified When No Prenup Exists: What State Default Law Actually Decides for You Without a prenup, 41 states divide marital property by "equitable distribution" and nine use community property, according to the Uniform Law Commission and state family codes. Your state's default rules decide for you.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 24, 2026
50 Planning Do Prenups Reduce Conflict During a Divorce? What the Data Shows A prenup can lower divorce conflict by settling asset and debt questions in advance, while both partners are cooperative and fully informed, leaving fewer open issues for a court to decide later. But the prenup process of going through full financial disclosure and aligning on money matters early can also strengthen a couple for the future.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 24, 2026
51 Law Demystified Is a Prenup a "Living Document"? When and Why Couples Revisit an Agreement After Marriage A prenup is not set in stone: under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, a signed prenup can be amended or revoked after marriage by a written agreement signed by both parties.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 24, 2026
52 Planning Massachusetts Prenuptial Agreements: What the Law Requires, and How to Get Two Independent Attorneys Without the Law Firm Price Tag Getting a prenup in Massachusetts means working with the state's two-stage fairness test: first to determine whether it was valid, fair, and reasonable when signed, and later to determine whether enforcing it at divorce would be unconscionable given circumstances that developed during the marriage.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 1, 2026
53 News The New Power Move: Why Half of All Prenups Are Now Initiated by Women Half of all prenups at First are now initiated by women. First founder and CEO Libby Leffler joined the HumanizeHer podcast to discuss why the prenup has become a power move, what couples protect beyond money, and what an online prenup costs.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 12, 2026
54 Planning Prenup for Couples Where One Partner Has Significant Debt: How to Protect Yourself Without Punishing Your Partner Americans hold $1.28 trillion in credit card debt and $1.66 trillion in student loans, part of a record $18.8 trillion in household debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and a prenup is the cleanest way for one partner's balance to stay theirs.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 8, 2026
55 Planning Prenup Lawyer Near Me: What You're Actually Paying For in 2026 Family law attorneys typically charge $2,500 to $10,000+ per couple to draft a prenup, with hourly billing driving most of the cost variance.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 17, 2026
56 Planning Should You Buy a Home Before or After Getting Married? How a Prenup Changes the Answer Buying a home before the wedding can speed up equity-building, but without a prenup, separate-property contributions often get tangled when the marriage begins.
Sarah Kauffman May 20, 2026
57 Trends Prenup for HENRY Couples: How High Earners (Not Rich Yet) Should Think About Financial Protection Before Marriage (2026) If you're a high-income couple with growing equity comp, big debts, and a stay-at-home-parent decision on the horizon, a prenup helps you plan now for the wealth you're still building.
Sarah Kauffman May 27, 2026
58 Planning How to Get a Prenup in Texas: Step-by-Step Process, Costs, and Community Property Rules (2026) In Texas, a community property state, a prenuptial agreement lets you and your partner decide how your finances work, instead of letting state law decide for you. Updated for 2026.
Sarah Kauffman May 31, 2026
59 Education Prenup for Military Couples (2026): How to Handle a Military Pension, BAH, and Deployment in Your Agreement Under the federal Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (10 U.S.C. §1408), state courts can treat military retired pay as marital property, which a well-drafted prenup can address in advance.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 11, 2026
60 Law Demystified Prenups and Inheritance: How to Keep What You Inherit (or Expect to Inherit) Separate From Marital Property Inheritances are usually classified as separate property by default, but commingling during marriage can quietly convert them into marital property a court will divide in a divorce.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 5, 2026
61 Trends Should You Let AI Write Your Prenup? What ChatGPT and Other AI Tools Get Wrong AI can explain prenup concepts and draft generic clauses, but it consistently misses the state-specific formalities that determine whether your agreement is enforceable.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 14, 2026
62 Education How might my prenup be different if I’ve been married before? Been married before? Your prenup now has to account for a divorce decree, children, partly earned retirement accounts, and an estate plan naming someone else.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 21, 2026
63 Education How to Get a Prenup in Washington State: Community Property, No Waiting Period, and What It Costs (2026) Washington is one of nine community property states, meaning everything earned during your marriage is jointly owned by default. Updated for 2026.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 3, 2026
64 Education Prenuptial Agreements in Arizona: A Step-by-Step Guide for Couples in a Community Property State (2026) Arizona prenups must be in writing, signed voluntarily by both parties, and backed by fair financial disclosure under the state's Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. Updated for 2026.
Sarah Kauffman May 31, 2026
65 Education Fur-ever Love: Why Your Pets Need a Prenup Too! In most states a pet is property in a divorce. Illinois, California, and New York now weigh the animal's care, and a prenup can settle the question first.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 21, 2026
66 Prenup Basics New York Prenuptial Agreement Requirements: DRL §236(B)(3), Acknowledgment, and Enforceability (2026) Under New York Domestic Relations Law §236(B)(3), a prenup must be in writing, signed by both parties, and acknowledged in the same manner required for a deed to be recorded. Here is what that means for validity and enforceability in New York's equitable distribution system.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 3, 2026
67 Education Do You Need a Prenup for Student Loans and Pets? Student loans signed before the wedding are usually separate debt. See what shared payments, refinancing, and pet ownership do to that line in a prenup.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 21, 2026
68 Law Demystified State-by-State: How Prenuptial Agreements Vary Across America (2026 Guide) Prenuptial agreement laws differ in every state. Here's a plain-language tour of UPAA adoption, property regimes, and the rules that actually shape your prenup in each state.
Sarah Kauffman Jul 23, 2026
69 Law Demystified Do You Need a Prenup Without Assets? What to Consider A prenup does its most useful work before there is much to divide. What state law does with your future income, first home, retirement, and debt.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 21, 2026
70 Education California Prenup Laws: Requirements, the 7-Day Rule, and Community Property (2026) California prenup laws require a written agreement, full financial disclosure, voluntary signing, and a mandatory 7-day wait between delivery and signing.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 3, 2026
71 Education Are Prenups Just for the Wealthy? What the Data Says About Who Signs Prenups are financial self-protection for two-earner couples, and women now initiate about half the agreements First facilitates, per First 2026 data.
Sarah Kauffman Sep 16, 2026
72 Law Demystified Can a Prenup Have a Cheating Clause? You can write an infidelity clause into a prenup. Enforcing it is another matter: the clause has to be a term your state allows and conduct you are permitted to prove.
Sarah Kauffman Aug 21, 2026
73 Law Demystified The Legal Rights and Responsibilities of Marriage A U.S. Government Accountability Office report identified 1,138 federal statutory provisions in which marital status determines benefits, rights, and privileges, as of December 31, 2003.
Sarah Kauffman Jun 20, 2026