What to know:
- Every prenup is the same legal instrument, a premarital agreement; "types of prenups" describes what the agreement does and how it was made, and one agreement can combine several.
- By what they do, the main types are the separate-property prenup (each partner keeps what they own and earn), the shared-growth prenup (premarital assets stay separate, what you build together is shared), and the business-owner, debt-protection, estate-coordination, spousal-support, sunset-clause and second-marriage prenups.
- Lifestyle-clause prenups add conduct terms such as infidelity penalties or social-media rules, and courts rarely enforce them.
- By how they are made, a prenup is attorney-drafted with two lawyers, guided online with optional attorney review, or filled in from a do-it-yourself template.
- The rule for choosing: start from what you need the agreement to do, then pick the path that matches your assets, your state and how much independent advice you want.
- First's Self-Serve package is a guided online prenup at $649 per couple in 46 states plus D.C., and Lawyer Review adds an independent attorney for each partner at $3,500 per couple where Lawyer Review is offered; both include online notarization.
You have agreed that a prenup makes sense. Now you are reading about separate-property prenups, sunset clauses and business-owner agreements, and wondering which one is yours. The list is shorter than it looks: most prenups are built from a handful of patterns, and once you can name them, the choice comes down to what you own, where you live, and what you want the agreement to do.
This guide sorts the types of prenuptial agreements by what they do and by how they are made, then gives you a decision list by situation. If you are still deciding whether you need one, start with what a prenup is and whether you need one.
What "types of prenups" means
Legally, there is one instrument. A prenuptial agreement (also called a premarital agreement) is a written contract two people sign before marriage that sets out how property, debts and support are handled during the marriage and if it ends, by divorce or death. Twenty-nine states plus D.C. have adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act or its successor, according to the Uniform Law Commission, and the act lays out an illustrative list of matters a premarital agreement can cover. In practice, most prenups address four core areas: separate versus marital property, how assets and debts get divided if the marriage ends, spousal support, and inheritance or estate rights.
So when people search for types of prenups, they are describing patterns: which of those areas the agreement emphasizes, and how far it goes. A separate-property prenup and a shared-growth prenup are the same document with different answers filled in, which means you are choosing terms, and you can mix them.
Types of prenuptial agreements by what they do
Separate-property prenup
A separate-property prenup draws the line at the wedding and keeps it there. Everything each partner owns on the day you marry stays theirs, everything each earns and buys during the marriage stays theirs, and the same goes for gifts and inheritances. There is no marital pot to divide, so a divorce means each person leaves with what is in their own name.
Couples choose this pattern when both partners earn and want independent finances, or when one partner arrives with a large premarital estate. The clause at its core is the separate-property clause, the most common clause in any prenup, and our guide to typical prenup terms shows how it is written. The tradeoff is discipline about accounts, because mixing separate money with joint money (commingling) blurs the line over time.
Community or shared-growth prenup
A shared-growth prenup protects what each partner brings in and treats what you build together as shared. Premarital assets, gifts and inheritances stay separate; income earned and property bought during the marriage become marital property that you divide on terms you set in advance, often equally.
The pattern mirrors the default rule in community property states such as California, Texas and Washington, where most property acquired during a marriage is presumed to belong to both spouses equally. Couples in equitable distribution states choose it because, without an agreement, a court divides marital property by what it considers fair, and "equitable" does not always mean "equal." A shared-growth prenup replaces that discretion with a rule you both chose; see community property versus separate property for where the default lines fall.
Business-owner prenup
A business-owner prenup keeps a company, its future growth and its control with the owner. It names the business as separate property, states that appreciation during the marriage stays separate, and sets how the business is valued if the marriage ends, so the owner is not forced to sell or to take on an unwanted co-owner.
Founders choose this pattern because a business is the asset most exposed in a divorce: its value grows over years of marriage, the owner's work can give that growth a marital character, and co-owners have a stake in who holds the shares. Read what happens to a business without a prenup for the appreciation and goodwill problems.
Debt-protection prenup
A debt-protection prenup leaves each partner's debts with the person who took them on. Student loans, credit card balances and business debt that exist at the wedding stay with the borrower, and the agreement can say that debt one partner takes on alone during the marriage stays theirs too.
A prenup cannot change what you owe a lender, and it does not bind creditors; what it settles is which of you is responsible when accounts are divided. See our guide for couples where one partner has significant debt for how to write it without the terms feeling punitive.
Inheritance and estate-coordination prenup
An inheritance and estate-coordination prenup is written so family assets pass where you intend, during the marriage and at death. It keeps inheritances and expected inheritances separate, and it can waive the surviving spouse's elective share: in most states a surviving spouse has a right to a portion of the deceased spouse's estate regardless of what the will says, and that right can be waived in a premarital agreement.
The prenup handles the waiver; a will or trust handles the distribution, so the two documents are worth drafting together. If a trust is involved, our guide to how a prenup affects a trust covers what the agreement can and cannot reach.
Spousal-support waiver or cap prenup
A spousal-support prenup decides in advance whether support (alimony) is paid if the marriage ends, and how much: a full waiver, a cap, a formula tied to the length of the marriage, or a defined amount and duration. Because a total waiver draws the most scrutiny, many couples choose to shape support rather than erase it.
State law matters more here than for any other pattern. In California, a prenup that waives or limits spousal support requires that each party be represented by independent counsel for the waiver to be enforceable, and a court can still decline to enforce a waiver that is unconscionable at the time of divorce. A few states generally will not enforce a premarital support waiver at all, however the clause is written. Our guide to spousal support in a prenup covers waivers, caps and what courts allow.
Sunset or review-clause prenup
A sunset prenup expires on a date or anniversary you choose, or phases out: a support waiver that lifts after ten years, or a separate-property rule that gives way to shared ownership once children arrive. A review-clause prenup stays in force but commits both of you to revisit it at set milestones, with any change made through a postnuptial agreement.
Couples add these terms because an agreement signed at thirty can feel wrong at fifty. Once the agreement sunsets, your state's default rules apply, so a partner relying on its protection has to understand what they give up on that date.
Second-marriage and blended-family prenup
A second-marriage prenup protects the promises you have already made, usually to children from a prior relationship, while you build a life with your new partner. It combines three patterns: separate property for what each partner brings in, an estate waiver so children inherit as planned, and debt allocation so one partner's prior obligations do not become shared.
The agreement cannot decide child custody or child support, which courts set on the child's best interests at the time, but it can keep the house and the family heirlooms on the path you chose. Our guide to prenups for blended families shows how the prenup and the will or trust work together.
Lifestyle-clause prenup
A lifestyle-clause prenup adds terms about conduct rather than money: infidelity penalties, social-media rules, how holidays are split. Talking those expectations through is healthy, but as legal terms they carry little weight. Courts rarely enforce lifestyle terms, because many states view personal-conduct provisions as against public policy, and an unenforceable clause can invite a court to look harder at the rest of the agreement.
If a conduct issue matters to you, the firmer ground is a term close to money, such as a narrowly drafted non-disparagement clause that protects a partner's income and reputation. Our post on whether lifestyle clauses in prenups are enforceable covers where the line falls.
Types of prenups by how they are made
The second way people sort prenups is by who drafts them. The document is the same no matter where you get it; what changes is who drafts it, whether each partner gets independent review, and what it costs.
Attorney-drafted with two lawyers
The traditional route is two independent attorneys, one for each partner, who draft, review and negotiate the agreement by the hour. Each partner gets advice that is theirs alone, the strongest footing for the terms courts scrutinize most, such as a spousal-support waiver. Hiring two attorneys on your own typically runs $3,000 to $10,000 or more per couple, and the total is not known until the work is finished.
Online guided prenup with optional attorney review
A guided online prenup takes both partners through a structured questionnaire, drafts an agreement to your state's rules from your answers, and carries you through disclosure, signing and notarization. There are two kinds. The first is self-guided: First's Self-Serve package is this path, at $649 per couple, available in 46 states plus D.C., with online notarization included. The second adds independent legal review: First's Lawyer Review package is $3,500 per couple and gives each partner their own attorney to review and edit the same guided agreement, where Lawyer Review is offered. The pricing page sets the two side by side; choose the attorney-review path for a support waiver, or in a state that requires counsel for particular terms.
Do-it-yourself template
A template is a fillable document, free or cheap, that you complete and sign on your own. It is the fastest and least expensive path and the weakest, because a template does not know your state's requirements for disclosure, timing or signing, and those rules decide whether an agreement survives a challenge. Our comparison of a prenup template and a real prenup lays out what a free form leaves out.
Prenup vs postnup vs cohabitation agreement
Three agreements get confused with the types above, and each is a separate instrument. A prenup is signed before the wedding. A postnuptial agreement does the same job after the wedding, for couples who ran out of time or who want to change a prenup later; postnups face more scrutiny in court, and our guide to prenup vs postnup covers the difference. A cohabitation agreement is for partners who are not marrying, and courts enforce it under ordinary contract principles; see prenups, cohabitation agreements and domestic partnerships for which applies if you are not married yet. Your state sets the rules for each, and First's state prenup hub collects them state by state.
How to choose the right type
Start from what you need the agreement to do, then pick the path that matches your assets, your state and how much independent advice you want. By situation:
- Both partners earn, and no shared purchases are planned yet: a separate-property prenup, guided online.
- You expect to buy a home and merge accounts: a shared-growth prenup, with premarital assets listed as separate.
- One of you owns a business or holds founder equity: a business-owner prenup with a valuation method; independent attorney review earns its cost when the equity is significant.
- One partner carries large debt: a debt-protection prenup, paired with a plan for shared obligations.
- Family money, a trust or an expected inheritance: an inheritance and estate-coordination prenup, drafted alongside the will or trust.
- A large income gap, or one partner plans to step back from work: spousal-support terms, shaped rather than waived, with independent counsel for each partner.
- A second marriage with children: a blended-family prenup combining separate property, an estate waiver and debt allocation.
- Uneasy about signing something permanent: add a sunset or review clause to whichever pattern fits.
Most couples combine two or three of these. A prenup is a set of answers, and you can give a different answer to each question.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the two main types of prenups?
The two main types are the separate-property prenup, where each partner keeps what they own and earn, and the shared-growth prenup, where premarital assets stay separate and what you build during the marriage is shared. Most other types are variations: a business-owner or inheritance prenup is a separate-property agreement focused on one asset, and spousal-support or sunset terms can be added to either base.
What type of prenup protects a business?
A business-owner prenup. It names the company as separate property, keeps its appreciation separate, sets a valuation method and protects control, so a divorce does not force a sale or add an unwanted co-owner. Independent attorney review earns its cost here, because the owner's work during the marriage can give the company's growth a marital character unless the agreement says otherwise.
Is a postnup a type of prenup?
No. A postnuptial agreement is a separate instrument signed after the wedding. It can cover the same terms, and couples use it to finish an agreement they did not complete before marrying or to update a prenup later, but postnups face more scrutiny in court than prenups.
What is the most common type of prenuptial agreement?
The separate-property prenup. The separate-property clause is the most common clause in a prenup and usually the anchor the rest of the agreement builds on, so most agreements are a separate-property base with one or two added terms, such as debt allocation or a support cap. That answer rests on which clause appears most often rather than on a count of agreements by type. For who signs prenups and what they pay, see First's prenup statistics report.
Can one prenup combine several types?
Yes. The types are patterns of terms inside one agreement, so a single prenup can keep premarital assets separate, share what you build together, assign existing debt, cap support and sunset after fifteen years. The limits are state law and public policy: a prenup cannot decide child custody or support, and lifestyle terms are rarely enforced.
