The Complete Prenup Checklist: What to Cover Before You Sign

This checklist gives you and your partner one clear path through every decision a prenup involves. Work through it together, in order, and by the time an attorney starts drafting, the important conversations are done and you both know what you want the agreement to say.

To help you work through it together, we've put the whole checklist into one free document. Get the checklist by email and keep it handy as you go.

What does a prenup checklist need to cover?

Four stages, and they are not interchangeable. The conversation comes first because the decisions depend on it. Disclosure comes second because you cannot decide how to treat an asset you have not named. The terms come third. Execution comes last, and it is the stage most likely to be rushed, which is also what makes agreements vulnerable later.

Skipping ahead is the most common mistake. A couple who starts with a template is deciding terms before they have disclosed, which produces an agreement that reflects neither person's actual situation. If you are weighing formats, what makes an online prenup legal covers how the requirements apply regardless of how the document was produced.

Stage	What you produce	When it happens
The conversation	Shared goals, a timeline, and ground rules	Before anything is drafted
Disclosure	A complete picture of each partner's assets, debts, and income	Before any terms are decided
The terms	Decisions on whichever of the 72 items apply to you	The longest stage, and the one worth taking slowly
Execution	A signed agreement, witnessed or acknowledged as your state requires, stored safely	Last, and never the night before the wedding

Disclosure is the stage that carries the most legal weight, and it is worth understanding why. A prenup is a contract in which each partner gives up rights they would otherwise have by default. A court asked to enforce it years later has to decide whether that trade was made knowingly. The disclosure is the evidence. If one partner did not know the other held a business interest, a second property, or a seven-figure retirement account, then whatever they agreed about those assets was agreed in the dark, and a judge has a straightforward reason not to enforce it. Our explainer on why full financial disclosure matters goes further into how courts treat it.

That is also why disclosure is mutual rather than one-directional. The partner with fewer assets is not disclosing as a formality. Their disclosure is what protects the agreement from a later claim that the process was lopsided.

How do you start the prenup conversation?

This stage has no paperwork. It sets up everything that follows, and it is worth doing deliberately rather than in passing. If you are not sure how much runway you need, how long a prenup takes walks through a realistic timeline.

• Discuss the purpose and goals of your prenup together
• Address any emotional concerns or stigma around prenups
• Agree on a timeline, ideally two to six months before the wedding if you have the flexibility
• Establish ground rules for a respectful conversation
• Discuss whether you plan to be open with family or friends about your prenup, or keep the process private

What information and documents do you need to gather?

Full financial disclosure of your assets and debts is required for a prenup to be enforceable. Minnesota's statute puts a usable definition on it: each partner provides "a reasonably accurate description of all material facts of their income and good faith estimates of the value of their property" (Minn. Stat. § 519.11). Most states expect something in that range, even where the wording differs. You will be asked for values rather than paperwork in most online processes, though having the statements in front of you makes the numbers faster and more accurate. If you would rather work through it as a guided set of questions, the prenup questionnaire covers the information you will need before you start.

• Current income from all sources
• A complete list of financial holdings, including bank accounts, investments, retirement funds, cryptocurrency, equity compensation, and cash
• All real estate owned, including your primary residence and any rental or vacation properties
• Valuable personal property, which may include vehicles, jewelry, art, or collectibles
• All current debts, including student loans, credit cards, mortgages, and business loans
• Documents and valuations evidencing business ownership, if applicable
• Any legal documents you may need to reference, such as an existing trust, a will, or divorce paperwork from a prior marriage
• Prior year tax returns

How should you handle money day to day?

These are the habits that shape a marriage long before any agreement is tested, and they are what a prenup can either reflect or ignore. If one of you is carrying significantly more debt, what happens when one partner has debt is worth reading before this conversation.

Daily financial management

• Determine your approach to paying for shared expenses
• Consider joint versus separate accounts
• Establish spending limits that require mutual consent
• Plan for major purchases, gifts, and investments
• Address debt management during the marriage
• Consider your financial decision-making hierarchy

Career and income

• Consider future earning potential and career trajectories
• Discuss stock options and RSUs, bonuses, and commission structures, covered in more depth in prenups for tech workers
• Plan for any desired sabbaticals, career pivots, or entrepreneurial ventures
• Address how each partner will handle career interruptions for family reasons
• Plan for income changes during family planning periods
• Consider the impact on retirement savings and benefits
• Address fertility treatment costs and insurance coverage
• Address surrogacy arrangements, including contracts, escrow, and insurance for the surrogate
• Address ownership and disposition of stored eggs, sperm, and embryos
• Address beliefs about relocating for career opportunities
• Consider the impact of advanced degrees or career changes
• Address extended travel obligations or goals for work, education, or leisure

What should you decide about family, support, and health?

This section covers the commitments that shape family life, the ones you already have and the ones still ahead, so your agreement reflects the life you are planning together.

Health and medical decisions

• Plan for long-term care insurance and costs
• Address major medical decisions and expenses
• Consider the impact of disability on your financial arrangements

Family, children, and spousal support

• Discuss support obligations to elderly parents
• Consider financial responsibilities to siblings or extended family
• Discuss existing spousal or child support obligations from previous relationships
• Discuss goals and values around supporting shared children, whether already born or born during the marriage
• Discuss financial beliefs related to family expansion, including adoption or the use of assisted reproductive technology
• Plan for future potential financial emergencies
• Decide whether to maintain, waive, or augment spousal support rights, and read how spousal support works first if the term is new to you
• Consider temporary versus permanent support arrangements
• Address support during separation periods
• Plan for different scenarios, such as a short marriage versus a long one
• Plan for life insurance needs as your family expands
• Consider health insurance changes and costs
• Address inheritance planning for future beneficiaries

Social and family obligations

• Address religious or cultural financial obligations
• Plan for extended family support and caregiving
• Consider charitable giving and philanthropy
• Address social and entertaining expenses

What stays separate and what becomes shared?

This is the heart of the agreement. Our guide to what a prenup protects covers how these categories behave in practice, and typical prenup terms shows the clauses couples use to handle them.

One thing shapes this section more than any other: your state's default rule. Community property states and equitable distribution states start from different assumptions about what belongs to whom, and in an equitable distribution state, equitable does not always mean equal. A prenup is how you replace that default with your own arrangement, so it is worth knowing which default you are replacing before you work through the items below.

The appreciation question is the one couples underestimate. An asset one partner owned before the marriage is usually straightforward. What happens to its growth during the marriage, particularly when the other partner contributed effort or money to it, is where most disputes originate. Deciding that now costs a conversation. Deciding it later costs a litigation.

Separate versus marital property

• Discuss what you would like to remain separate property during the marriage, and what you would like to share
• Address how appreciation of separate property is handled during the marriage
• Disclose expected gifts and inheritances and discuss their anticipated treatment, which securing an inheritance with a prenup covers in detail
• Understand the effect of commingling rules and their consequences
• Plan for property acquired in other states or countries

Real estate

• Determine the ownership structure for the marital home
• Discuss any changes needed to the title of shared real estate
• Address mortgage payments and home improvements
• Plan for vacation homes or investment properties
• Address property taxes and maintenance responsibilities

Business and professional interests

• Review premarital business interests, and see what happens to a business without a prenup
• Address businesses that may be started during the marriage
• Plan for professional practices and partnerships
• Consider intellectual property and patents

What about retirement, unusual assets, and digital property?

Retirement accounts and digital assets are the two categories that most often sit outside a prenup by accident, because nobody thought to name them.

Retirement and long-term planning

• Plan for retirement account beneficiaries
• Address Social Security and pension benefits
• Consider long-term care planning and costs
• Plan for the effect of an age difference on retirement

Unique assets and situations

• Discuss custody wishes for pets, including the right to rehome, which pets and prenups covers
• Discuss crypto, creator income, digital assets, and gaming holdings
• Address collectibles, art, and hobby investments

Technology and digital rights

• Consider social media and digital presence rights
• Address AI-generated content and intellectual property created during the marriage, a newer area covered in prenups for AI and tech equity
• Plan for digital asset access and passwords
• Consider online businesses and revenue streams

What if your money crosses borders or involves an estate plan?

Either of these can change which state's or country's law matters. If the two of you currently live in different states, getting a prenup across state lines explains how that is handled.

International considerations

• Address foreign assets and income
• Consider dual citizenship implications
• Plan for currency fluctuations and exchange rates
• Address international tax obligations

Inheritance and legacy planning

• Coordinate the prenup with existing wills and trusts, if any, and see how a prenup affects a trust
• Address inheritance rights and limitations
• Plan for life insurance beneficiaries and amounts
• Consider the tax implications of your estate planning decisions
• Address posthumous business or property management as needed

How the two sets of documents fit together is covered in prenups and estate planning.

What happens between drafting and signing?

The last stage is where agreements are won or lost, and it is also where state law varies most. New York will enforce a premarital agreement that is "in writing, subscribed by the parties, and acknowledged or proven in the manner required to entitle a deed to be recorded," which in practice means a notary. Minnesota requires the agreement to be witnessed by two people and acknowledged before someone authorized to administer an oath, and to be "entered into voluntarily and free of duress." California adds a timing rule rather than a formality: at least seven calendar days between receiving the final agreement and signing it. Check your own state before you schedule anything, because these rules are not interchangeable.

Agreement drafting

• Research attorneys specializing in family law and prenups in your state, using what to look for when choosing an attorney
• Each partner secures independent legal counsel to represent them through the process
• Consider the issues specific to your state regarding a prenup's effect on tax and estate planning

Review and refinement

• Allow adequate time for multiple drafts and revisions
• Ensure both partners fully understand every provision
• Address any remaining concerns or questions

Execution requirements

• Take into account any required state waiting period before signing, and the risk that signing close to the wedding creates
• Schedule the signing with the witnesses and notarization your state requires
• Ensure there is no coercion or pressure during signing
• Create multiple original copies and store them with your vital documents

After signing

• Update beneficiary designations as needed
• Revise estate planning documents for consistency
• Address real estate title updates
• Inform relevant professionals, such as your accountant and financial advisor
• Store the original somewhere safe, as covered in how to store a signed prenup

Frequently asked questions

How long before the wedding should we start?

Two to six months is comfortable, and one month is tight. A few states set a hard floor: California requires at least seven calendar days between receiving the final agreement and signing. Courts everywhere look poorly on a last-minute signature. The binding constraint is usually the conversation and the disclosure rather than the drafting.

Do we both need our own lawyer?

It depends on your state and the clause. In California a spousal support waiver is unenforceable against a partner who had no independent counsel at signing. Most states do not make counsel mandatory, but it always strengthens the agreement against a later claim that someone did not understand what they were signing.

What counts as full financial disclosure?

Minnesota's statute gives the clearest standard: a reasonably accurate description of all material facts of your income, plus good faith estimates of the value of your property. In practice that means income, accounts, investments, retirement funds, real estate, valuable property, business interests, and every debt, from both partners.

Does a prenup have to be notarized?

It depends where you are. New York requires acknowledgment in the manner that would let a deed be recorded, which means a notary. Minnesota requires two witnesses plus acknowledgment before someone authorized to administer an oath. Other states require neither, though notarizing is good practice everywhere because it creates a dated record.

Can a prenup decide anything about our children?

No state lets a prenup predetermine child custody or child support. Those are decided by a court according to the child's best interests at the time. A prenup can address how the two of you plan to handle family expenses and life insurance, which is a different question.

What do we do once it is signed?

Update beneficiary designations, revise your wills and trusts so they agree with the prenup, handle any real estate title changes, tell your accountant and financial advisor, and store the original somewhere safe alongside your other vital documents.

Methodology

The four stages and the 72 decision items are taken from First's Ultimate Prenup Prep Checklist, which the First team created to make the prenup process friendlier and more organized. Legal requirements are quoted from three primary sources: the California Family Code as published by California Legislative Information, New York Domestic Relations Law as published by the New York State Senate, and the Minnesota Statutes as published by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Those three states are examples of how widely execution and counsel rules vary, not a complete survey. Requirements differ in every state, and the items above are prompts for discussion with your own attorney rather than legal conclusions about your situation.

Sources

• N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 236(B)(3) (New York State Senate): the writing, subscription, and acknowledgment requirements for an enforceable premarital agreement.
• Minn. Stat. § 519.11 (Office of the Revisor of Statutes): two witnesses and acknowledgment, the voluntariness requirement, and the statutory definition of full and fair disclosure.
• Cal. Fam. Code § 1615 (California Legislative Information): the seven calendar day period between receiving the final agreement and signing it.
• Cal. Fam. Code § 1612 (California Legislative Information): the independent counsel requirement for an enforceable spousal support provision.

If you would rather not coordinate two attorneys and a notary yourselves, you can see what First's flat-fee options include and work through this checklist inside the process.

First is not a law firm. The information and tools provided by First on this site are not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.