A look at prenuptial agreements in Massachusetts

If you’re an avid follower of our blog, then you’ve likely read a number of our posts regarding marital agreements. As you’ve probably gathered, these legal documents can be incredibly useful, especially during the property division step of a divorce.

For those interested in drafting and signing a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, you may quickly realize that our state’s laws can be rather tricky to navigate. If you’re like a lot of our readers and don’t want to risk violating the law, then you’ll want to read today’s post because we are going to look at prenuptial agreements and what laws apply to these legal documents.

Found in Section 25, Chapter 209 of our state’s General Laws, our readers can find the law governing prenuptial agreements. The section simply states that a couple may enter into a written contract regarding real or personal property prior to marriage, provided the terms of the agreement fall within the limitations of the law.

But even though the language of this law has been simplified, it may not make it any less confusing to couples across Massachusetts. That’s because the law offers little guidance about what may or may not be included in a prenuptial agreement aside from real or personal property. Furthermore, this section of the law also doesn’t address what could cause a prenuptial agreement to become unenforceable, only that the contract must be within “lawful limitations.”

Even though our state’s family courts have addressed the vagueness of this law in many cases over the years, most individuals wouldn’t know where to look in case law for clarification on the law. Using this example, our Worcester readers can probably see now why we stress the importance of getting an attorney for all family law issues. You never know when you may be facing the incredible complexity of the law or laws that need clarification.