Understanding State-Specific Laws

Here’s the issue: Many states have different laws about what makes an agreement enforceable, so what makes for an enforceable agreement in Montana might not be an enforceable agreement in Georgia. Many people move around during their lives, so you and your spouse could be living in one state when you sign your agreement, but living in another state when it’s time to enforce the agreement. Fortunately, there’s a straightforward solution to this issue.

Including Governing Law Provisions

Your prenup should include a provision that says that the agreement is going to be governed by the laws of your state, or “construed” under the laws of your state.

What does that mean? If you are living in another state, and you need to have your prenup enforced, and you’re going before a judge – the judge is going to see that language and say OK – when deciding if this agreement is enforceable, I need to judge it based on the state listed in the agreement, not necessarily the state that you’re living in at the time. That way, so long as your agreement was enforceable at the time it was drafted in the state it was drafted, you can be secure in knowing that it will be enforced in any of the other 50 states.