---

name: draft-prenup
description: Use when drafting a prenuptial (premarital) agreement governing property division and financial obligations before marriage. Covers jurisdictional recognition rules (strong in DIFC, ADGM, UK, France; variable in LB by confession; Sharia-constrained in KSA; expanded for non-Muslims in UAE under Federal Law 41/2022), recommended content, procedural enforceability requirements (full disclosure, independent counsel, voluntariness, notarization), and what a prenup cannot override (child support, Sharia inheritance). Triggers on "prenup", "prenuptial", "premarital agreement", "contrat de mariage", or "marriage settlement" requests.
license: MIT
metadata:
id: draft.prenup
category: draft
practice_area: estate-personal-status
jurisdictions: [UAE, DIFC, ADGM, KSA, LB, FR, UK, US, EG]
priority: P1
intent: [prenup, prenuptial, premarital agreement, contrat de mariage, marriage property]
related: [draft-power-of-attorney, draft-will, draft-property-sale-agreement, review-estate-planning]
source: Louis — HAQQ Legal AI (github.com/sboghossian/mini-claude-for-legal)
version: "1.0"

Prenuptial Agreement (Premarital / Antenuptial Agreement)

When to use this

A prenuptial agreement is a contract entered into before marriage that establishes each spouse's rights and obligations in respect of property, finances, and support, particularly upon divorce or death. Use this skill when:

• One or both prospective spouses have significant pre-marital assets (real estate, business interests, investments, inheritance)
• One or both parties has children from a prior relationship whose interests must be protected
• There is a significant wealth disparity between the parties
• The parties intend to keep certain assets or family businesses separate throughout the marriage
• The marriage has an international dimension (parties from different countries, property in multiple jurisdictions)

Legal caution: prenuptial agreement law is among the most jurisdiction-specific areas of family law. A prenuptial agreement valid in France may be unenforceable in Lebanon. An agreement valid for non-Muslim UAE residents under the new civil personal-status law may have no effect for Muslims. Always verify with a family-law practitioner in the relevant jurisdiction(s) before finalizing.

Jurisdictional recognition — overview

Jurisdiction	Recognition level	Key requirement
DIFC	Strong — full contractual enforcement	DIFC law applies; common-law principles; fair, voluntary, full disclosure
ADGM	Strong	Same as DIFC
UK	Strong (with caveats)	Not automatically binding but courts give "decisive weight" to a fair agreement with full disclosure and independent advice (Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42); courts retain overriding discretion
France	Strong	"Contrat de mariage" — fully enforceable if made before a notaire; civil Code allows parties to choose their matrimonial regime (séparation de biens, communauté universelle, etc.)
Germany	Enforceable	Civil-law tradition; notarization required; court may review for fairness at enforcement
US (most states)	Enforceable per UPAA/UPMAA	Full financial disclosure; independent counsel; voluntary; not unconscionable
UAE (non-Muslim)	Now available under Federal Law 41/2022	Civil personal-status court for non-Muslims; written agreement governable by home-country law or UAE civil law
UAE (Muslim)	Sharia governs	Sharia courts apply Islamic personal-status law; limited scope for prenuptial variation of Sharia rules (mahr, inheritance, custody)
KSA	Sharia governs	Marriage is a contract (عقد الزواج) under Sharia; parties may agree certain terms (e.g., wife's right to employment, additional mahr) but cannot override Sharia inheritance, divorce rights, or child custody
Lebanon (LB)	Heavily fragmented by confession	Each religious community's personal-status court applies its own rules; civil prenups rarely enforceable for religiously governed divorces; Druze, Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Sunni, Shia, Armenian — each confessional court has its own family law system
Egypt (EG)	Limited	Sharia governs for Muslims (Personal Status Law); Coptic church law for Copts; agreement terms that conflict with personal-status law are void

Required inputs

Input	Why it matters
Both prospective spouses (full identification)	Parties; capacity to contract
Jurisdiction of intended marital domicile	Primary governing law
Property situs jurisdictions	Separate analysis may be needed for each location of real property
Religion / confession	Controls which court will have jurisdiction in LB, KSA, and EG
Current assets of each party (full disclosure)	Inadequate disclosure is the primary ground for invalidation
Anticipated children	Confirm that no waiver of child support is being attempted
Specific provisions wanted	What each party wants protected

Recommended content

1. Identification of parties and capacity

Full legal names, nationalities, passports/IDs, domicile, and capacity declaration. Confirm each party is entering freely and voluntarily.

2. Recitals

• Statement of intent to marry
• Acknowledgment that each party is entering of their own free will
• Acknowledgment of full and mutual financial disclosure
• Statement that each party has had independent legal advice

3. Asset disclosure schedule

A complete schedule (Exhibit A for each party) listing all material assets:

• Real estate (title deed numbers, estimated value)
• Business interests (company name, jurisdiction, % ownership, estimated value)
• Bank accounts (institution, currency, approximate balance)
• Investments (brokerage accounts, securities portfolios, estimated value)
• Retirement accounts / pension
• Debts and liabilities
• Expected inheritances (if relevant and known)

Critical: inadequate disclosure is the single most common ground for invalidating a prenuptial agreement. Courts look at whether each party had a realistic picture of the other's financial position. Do not understate or omit material assets.

4. Property division rules

Pre-marital property (each party's separately owned assets)
Default: pre-marital property remains the separate property of the party who owned it before the marriage; no claim by the other spouse on divorce.

Post-marital property
The most negotiated provision. Options:

• Full separation of property: all assets acquired by either party during the marriage remain that party's separate property
• Community of acquisitions: all assets acquired during the marriage (by either party, except gifts and inheritances) become jointly owned
• Custom hybrid: certain categories (e.g., the family home) are jointly owned; other assets remain separate; professional income above a threshold is separately held
• Jurisdictional default: parties opt into their jurisdiction's default matrimonial property regime

Gifts and inheritances: universally, gifts given to and inheritances received by one spouse remain that spouse's separate property (even in community-property regimes). State this expressly.

5. Treatment of the matrimonial home

The family home is often the most sensitive asset. Options:

• Jointly owned from date of acquisition
• One party retains sole ownership but the other has a right of occupation during the marriage
• On divorce: sold with proceeds split per agreed formula; or one party can buy out the other at RICS valuation

6. Spousal support / maintenance on dissolution

• Full waiver of maintenance claims (not permissible in all jurisdictions — French law limits freedom to waive; some common-law courts will override an unconscionable waiver)
• Lump-sum payment in lieu of periodic maintenance
• Periodic maintenance for a defined period (income-replacement for non-working spouse during marriage)
• Maintenance tied to income differential

7. Estate planning provisions

A prenuptial agreement typically does not replace a will — it addresses the rights between spouses on divorce; death is governed by the will and the applicable succession law. Reference the parties' intention to execute wills; state that the prenup does not affect inheritance rights beyond what is expressly stated.

For Sharia jurisdictions: the prenup cannot override the fixed shares (fard) in Islamic inheritance law for heirs. Mahr (dowry) provisions in the marriage contract (not the prenup) may be addressed.

8. What a prenup CANNOT do

In all jurisdictions:

• Child support and custody: cannot be agreed in advance; child support is determined by the court at the time of divorce based on the child's best interests
• Basic spousal maintenance waivers: in some civil-law jurisdictions and for economically vulnerable spouses, courts will not enforce a complete maintenance waiver
• Sharia inheritance shares (KSA, Muslim-governed UAE/LB/EG): the forced share system cannot be contracted out of
• Illegal provisions: the agreement cannot require either party to perform illegal acts or waive public-order rights

9. Choice of law and forum

Specify:

• Which law governs the agreement and its interpretation
• Which court or tribunal has jurisdiction for disputes
• For international couples: consider a reciprocal enforceability clause (if the agreement is valid under law X, the parties agree not to challenge it in any other court on public-policy grounds — this has limited effect but signals the parties' intent)

10. Severability and amendment

• If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions survive
• Amendment requires written agreement signed by both parties before a notary (or equivalent formality)

11. Notarization and witness requirements

• France: notarial form is mandatory (without the notaire, the "contrat de mariage" is void)
• UAE (non-Muslim civil court): written form; may require notarization depending on the courts' current practice
• KSA: consult local family-law attorney; written form plus witness requirements
• Lebanon: each confessional court has its own requirements — consult counsel for the applicable court
• UK: while notarization is not legally required, having the agreement signed before a notary and witnessed improves enforceability

Procedural requirements for maximum enforceability

1. Full financial disclosure — both parties disclose all material assets and liabilities; this is documented in the disclosure schedule (Exhibit A for each party)
2. Independent legal counsel — each party retains their own separate family-law attorney who advises on the agreement; do not use the same attorney for both parties
3. Voluntariness — no duress; agreement signed well before the wedding (not the night before — courts frequently treat last-minute signatures as constructively coerced)
4. Reasonable fairness — the agreement must not be unconscionable; a provision leaving one spouse with nothing after a 20-year marriage may not survive judicial scrutiny
5. Specific notarization per the jurisdiction requirements
6. Counterparts — each party retains a signed original

Common anti-patterns

• Last-minute signature (within 1-2 weeks before the wedding date) — creates duress claims; sign at least 30 days before, ideally more
• One lawyer for both parties — professional conflict; invalidates the "independent advice" protection
• Sham asset disclosure — understating assets is fraud; if discovered, the entire agreement is vulnerable
• Attempting to waive child support — courts will ignore this provision but it may affect the agreement's overall enforceability
• Using a US-style agreement for a LB confessional court — the court will simply apply its own rules regardless

Related skills

• [[draft-power-of-attorney]]
• [[draft-will]]
• [[draft-property-sale-agreement]]
• [[review-estate-planning]]