Topic guide · 13 articles
Spousal support and income gaps
How a prenup can waive, cap or shape spousal support, and how couples plan for one partner earning more or stepping away from paid work.
01
Can a prenup waive or limit spousal support?
Spousal support is one of the terms couples shape most often in a prenup, and states limit what a waiver can do. Start with what courts allow.
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02
What if one partner earns much more?
When one partner earns much more, the prenup questions are mostly about what you will build, not what you have now. These guides cover high earners and income gaps.
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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.
- What Should a Woman Ask for in a Prenup? What a woman should protect in a prenup depends on her financial position, not gender stereotypes. Whether she has more assets, fewer, or equal footing, a prenup lets her define the terms around premarital property, spousal support, career sacrifice, and inheritance before the wedding, not during a divorce. Today's agreements are built to protect both partners, fairly. Read article →
- 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. Read article →
- How Prenups Handle Irregular and IP Income: Lessons From Athlete and Creator Contracts, Scaled Down About 11.9 million U.S. workers, or 7.4% of employment, are independent contractors with irregular income, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023), and a prenup lets couples define how that lumpy income is treated. Read article →
- Should 50/50 couples get a prenuptial agreement? Should 50/50 couples get prenups? We explore how financial equality intersects with marriage's legal framework. Read article →
- Do Middle-Income Couples Need a Prenup? Debt and Asset Clarity Prenups are a planning tool at any income. With U.S. household debt at a record $18.8 trillion, here is what clarity on debts and everyday assets buys you. Read article →
Lawyer Review: an independent attorney for each of you
Licensed in your state, $3,500 flat for the couple. No retainers, no hourly bills.
03
What if one partner stays home with children?
A partner who steps away from paid work to raise children gives up more than a salary. These guides cover how couples plan for that in advance.
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How a Prenup Handles a Marriage Where One Partner Wants to Stay Home
About 26% of mothers and 7% of fathers are stay-at-home parents, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data, and a prenup is how couples can plan for that single-income chapter in advance.
- Can a Prenup Decide Who's the Primary Caregiver? What Custody Clauses Can and Can't Do A prenup cannot decide child custody or who becomes the primary caregiver; under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, courts decide those questions at divorce based on the child's best interests. Read article →
- 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. Read article →
- 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. Read article →
- Before the baby shower: the registry no one talks about You will register for a stroller, a monitor, and a wipe warmer; the decisions that shape your first year as parents never make the list. Read article →
Lawyer Review: an independent attorney for each of you
Licensed in your state, $3,500 flat for the couple. No retainers, no hourly bills.
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