A Tennessee postnuptial agreement is a legal contract that a married couple signs to determine property rights and duties if the marriage ends in divorce or one spouse’s passing.
Unlike a prenuptial agreement, a postnup is signed by parties who are already married. This document can be beneficial, as they can consider their financial circumstances after entering marriage to determine the best way to divide property if they ever separate.
Legal Considerations
Title 36 of the Tennessee Code addresses domestic relations, including the creation of postnups. Case law also governs some of the stipulations surrounding these documents.
- Signing Requirements: A husband and wife should both sign a postnup (Bratton v. Bratton, 136 S.W.3d 595 (2004)).
- Dividing Property: Equitable division (§ 36-4-121).
Understanding Postnuptial Agreements in Tennessee
Validity Requirements
Case law plays a major role in determining the validity of postnups. The Bratton v. Bratton case highlights three main validity requirements:
- General contract rules: The involved parties and court should interpret and enforce the postnup under general contract rules.
- Consideration: Both parties must receive adequate consideration. The marriage alone can’t act as adequate consideration because past consideration can’t endorse a current commitment.
- Scrutiny: A court can scrutinize a postnup to ensure it’s equitable and fair. Scrutiny is necessary because of the confidential relationship between wife and husband.
§ 36-3-504 – Disabilities of Coverture Removed From Married Women – Statute of Limitations
- Once a woman marries, she has the same legal rights and capacities as if she were single.
- Marriage no longer limits or restricts a woman’s ability to control, own, or dispose of property or make legal agreements.
- All of the statutes of limitation that apply against or in favor of a single, unmarried woman and her property shall apply and operate against or in favor of married women and her property.
§ 36-3-502 – Creditor’s Rights
- A postnup can’t give the wife or children more than what’s truly available after the husband’s debts are paid off.
- If there’s a lawsuit involving a postnup and a creditor is involved, the person making the claim has the burden of proof.
- Suppose a wife receives a gift or inheritance during marriage without specific instructions on how she should use it. In this case, the gift or inheritance would be part of the marital (not separate) property, meaning it constitutes the assets available to pay off any debts her husband owes.
- Therefore, if creditors claim assets from the postnup, they can use the gift or inheritance to cover any shortfall in what was promised to the wife and other parties under the contract.
