Do You Need a Prenup? What Couples in Pennsylvania, West Virginia & Ohio Should Know
Prenuptial agreements have a branding problem.
Mention a prenup and many people immediately picture an extremely wealthy couple preparing for a divorce before they even get married. That misses much of the point. A well-planned prenuptial agreement can be less about preparing for the end of a marriage and more about creating financial clarity at the beginning of one. If you own a business, have real estate, expect an inheritance, have children from a previous relationship, carry significant debt, are entering a second marriage, or simply want to establish clear financial expectations before getting married, a prenup may be worth discussing.
At The Skeen Firm, we help clients with prenuptial agreements in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The laws are not identical across those three states, which makes proper planning particularly important for couples living and working in the tri-state region.
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What Is a Prenuptial Agreement?
A prenuptial agreement, sometimes called a premarital or antenuptial agreement, is an agreement made in anticipation of marriage that addresses certain financial and property rights between the prospective spouses. The details matter because prenup law is state-specific.
Pennsylvania, for example, defines a premarital agreement as an agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and effective upon marriage. Pennsylvania law also expressly addresses voluntariness and financial disclosure when determining whether an agreement may be set aside.
West Virginia adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, which applies to premarital agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023. Among other requirements, West Virginia law provides that a premarital agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties and contain an acknowledgment that both had an opportunity to consult separate legal counsel.
The applicable requirements can therefore matter just as much as what the agreement actually says.
Who Should Consider Getting a Prenup?
There is no minimum net worth that suddenly makes someone a “prenup person.” Instead, consider the financial life you are bringing into the marriage.
1. Business Owners
For an entrepreneur, a business may be one of the largest assets he or she will ever own. It can also be one of the most complicated assets to deal with if a marriage ends. Questions can arise concerning ownership, appreciation, distributions, compensation, retained earnings and the value created during a marriage. Those issues may affect more than the spouses. Partners, employees, investors and family members can also have an interest in keeping ownership disputes away from the business.
A business owner's prenup should therefore be considered alongside the company's operating agreement, shareholder agreement, buy-sell provisions, succession plan and estate plan. If you spent years building a company, deciding how it should be treated before the wedding can make considerably more sense than fighting about it years later.
For additional business planning, visit our Pennsylvania and West Virginia business attorney page.
2. People Who Own Real Estate
Maybe you already own your home. Maybe you have rental properties. Maybe you own a family farm, commercial property or land that has been in your family for generations.
A prenup can provide an opportunity to identify existing property and establish expectations concerning how certain property and related financial interests will be treated after marriage. That conversation can become particularly important when one person owns a house before the marriage but both spouses expect to contribute toward the mortgage, renovations or improvements afterward.
3. People Entering a Second Marriage
Second marriages often come with more complicated financial lives. One or both spouses may already have children. They may own homes, businesses, retirement accounts and investments. They may also have existing estate plans or financial obligations arising from previous relationships. A prenup can become one component of a broader plan that balances the new marriage with existing responsibilities and estate-planning goals. That is also why premarital planning and estate planning should not necessarily happen in separate silos.
Our Pennsylvania and West Virginia estate planning attorneys can help clients evaluate related estate-planning issues.
4. Couples With Significantly Different Assets or Income
A large difference in income or accumulated assets does not automatically mean a couple needs a prenup. It does mean there may be more financial issues worth discussing. One spouse might have spent 15 years building retirement savings while the other is just beginning a career. One might have significant investments. One may expect substantial future compensation or have equity in a company. Marriage can affect financial rights in ways couples may not fully appreciate when they walk down the aisle. A prenup creates an opportunity to have that conversation deliberately.
5. Anyone Bringing Significant Debt Into the Marriage
Prenups are not only about protecting wealth. Sometimes the issue is debt. Student loans, business obligations, personal guarantees, mortgages and other liabilities can all be relevant to a couple's financial planning. Understanding what each person owns and owes is part of entering a marriage with open eyes.
What Can a Prenup Address?
Depending upon applicable law and the couple's circumstances, a premarital agreement may address issues involving:
Property owned before marriage
Real estate
Business ownership
Investment accounts
Retirement assets
Income
Debt and financial obligations
Inheritance and family wealth
Certain property acquired during marriage
Spousal support or alimony issues
Rights following death
Estate and succession planning
That does not mean prospective spouses can simply put anything they want into a contract and assume a court will enforce it.
Child-related provisions are a particularly important example. Couples should not assume they can conclusively predetermine future custody or child-support issues through a private prenup. West Virginia's current statute, for example, expressly provides that a premarital agreement's provisions defining custodial rights or duties are not binding on the court.
What Makes a Prenup Enforceable?
This is where downloading a generic agreement from the internet can become dangerous. A prenup is not useful merely because someone found a template, filled in the blanks and obtained two signatures. Pennsylvania law places significant emphasis on voluntary execution and financial disclosure when a party later attempts to set aside a premarital agreement. West Virginia's newer statutory framework contains detailed requirements governing formation and enforcement.
The precise rules vary by jurisdiction and circumstances, but the process itself matters. Disclosure, voluntariness, adequate time for review and appropriate legal advice can become critically important if someone later challenges the agreement.
Why You Should Not Wait Until the Week Before the Wedding
Your wedding date is six months away. Great. Start the conversation now. Your wedding is next Saturday and you just remembered you wanted a prenup. That is a very different situation.
A meaningful prenup process may involve gathering financial information, identifying assets and liabilities, drafting an agreement, providing it for review, negotiating changes, coordinating separate counsel and executing the final agreement. Trying to compress that process into the days immediately before a wedding creates unnecessary problems. A prenup should be part of the planning process, not another item somebody remembers between confirming the caterer and picking up the tuxedo.
Pennsylvania Prenuptial Agreements
Pennsylvania has a specific statute governing premarital agreements. Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 3106, the party seeking to set aside a premarital agreement bears the burden of proving its unenforceability by clear and convincing evidence. The statute identifies issues involving voluntary execution and financial disclosure or knowledge.
For couples in Western Pennsylvania, those rules should be considered when the agreement is being prepared, not years later when someone asks a court to enforce it. The Skeen Firm assists clients in Washington County, Butler County, Beaver County, Allegheny County and other parts of Western Pennsylvania.
West Virginia Prenuptial Agreements
West Virginia's law changed significantly in 2023 with adoption of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act. The Act applies to premarital agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023. Among its provisions, the statute requires a premarital agreement to be written and signed by both parties and to contain an acknowledgment that both parties had an opportunity to consult separate legal counsel.
For couples in Wheeling, Ohio County, Brooke County, Hancock County, Marshall County, Wetzel County, Monongalia County and elsewhere in West Virginia, working from old assumptions about West Virginia prenup law can therefore be a mistake.
Ohio Prenuptial Agreements
Ohio also recognizes agreements affecting spouses' financial rights, and its statutes address requirements including written agreements, voluntary execution, and financial disclosure or knowledge in covered circumstances. For couples with connections to Ohio and another state, additional questions can arise about where the couple lives, where property is located and what law may ultimately govern particular issues. Those are questions worth considering when the agreement is being drafted.
A Prenup Can Be a Business Decision and a Family Decision
The best way to think about a prenup may be surprisingly simple: You are deciding important financial questions while you still agree with each other. That can be particularly valuable for business owners and couples with complex financial lives.
You already make plans for insurance. You create wills. Business owners use operating agreements and buy-sell agreements. Families create trusts. None of those documents means you expect something bad to happen tomorrow. They mean you would rather establish the rules while everyone has the opportunity to think clearly. A prenup can serve a similar purpose.
Thinking About a Prenup in PA, WV or OH?
Start earlier than you think you need to. The Skeen Firm helps clients evaluate, negotiate, draft and review prenuptial agreements throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. We offer virtual-friendly legal services and focus on giving clients clear answers about the process and the next step.
Explore Our Prenuptial Agreement Services in Pennsylvania, West Virginia & Ohio →
You can also book a discovery call or call 724-250-8841.
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Attorney Advertising. This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article or contacting The Skeen Firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prenuptial agreement laws and enforceability depend upon applicable law and individual facts and circumstances. Representation is subject to conflict review and a written engagement agreement.
