A prenuptial agreement is not a doubt about the marriage. It is a deliberate, mutual conversation about money, family, and fairness, written down before the rest of life writes over it.
A prenuptial agreement, sometimes called a premarital agreement, is a written contract two people sign before marriage that defines how property, debt, and certain financial obligations will be treated during the marriage and if it ever ends. In Oregon, prenuptial agreements are governed by the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, codified at ORS 108.700 through 108.740, which Oregon adopted in 1987. The Act gives engaged couples a clear, statewide framework for what can be agreed in advance and what cannot.
A thoughtfully prepared agreement can clarify each person's existing property, the treatment of future earnings and acquisitions, responsibility for debts, and expectations concerning a family business or inheritance. It can also coordinate with wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations. Whether a provision is enforceable depends on the agreement, disclosures, execution process, circumstances, and applicable law.
What a prenup can do
Identify separate property. Spell out what each spouse owns before the wedding, premarital savings, investments, business interests, real estate, retirement accounts, so those assets stay clearly separate.
Define marital property. Decide in advance how property acquired during the marriage will be treated, including income, appreciation on separate assets, and jointly-purchased homes.
Address a family business or inheritance. Define the intended treatment of a closely held business, family farm, or inheritance, while coordinating with business-succession and estate-planning documents.
Allocate debts. Make clear who is responsible for premarital debts such as student loans, credit card balances, or business obligations, so one spouse isn't unexpectedly exposed.
Plan for second marriages. Preserve assets for children from a prior relationship while still providing for a new spouse, a use case Oregon families ask about often.
Address spousal support. Modify, limit, or waive future spousal support, within the limits Oregon law allows.
Choose governing law and venue. Decide in advance which state's law applies, helpful for couples who own property in more than one state or expect to move.
What a prenup cannot do
Oregon law sets firm limits on what a prenuptial agreement can cover. A prenup cannot waive or reduce child support; that obligation belongs to the child, not the spouses, and it cannot be bargained away in advance. It cannot decide custody or parenting time, which courts evaluate based on the child's best interests at the time. And under ORS 108.725, a waiver of spousal support may not be enforced if it would leave one spouse eligible for public assistance at the time of separation, in which case the court can order whatever support is needed to avoid that result.
Factors Oregon courts consider
Oregon law identifies circumstances in which a premarital agreement may not be enforceable, including involuntary execution and certain situations involving unconscionability and inadequate financial disclosure or waiver. Adequate review time, complete and accurate disclosure, voluntary execution, and an opportunity for separate legal advice can be important to the process. No drafting attorney can guarantee how a future court will rule on a particular provision.
Begin well before the wedding date. The firm recommends starting at least 30 days in advance—and earlier for complex finances—so both parties have meaningful time for disclosure, review, negotiation, and separate counsel. This is planning guidance, not a universal statutory deadline.
Postnuptial agreements
If you are already married, Oregon also recognizes postnuptial agreements, contracts entered after the wedding that address many of the same financial questions. Postnuptial agreements are evaluated under common-law principles of contract, fairness, and full disclosure, rather than under the UPAA, and they are particularly useful after a major life change: a business sale, a substantial inheritance, a career shift, or a period of separation followed by reconciliation.
A prenuptial agreement is a quiet, careful document, signed once and rarely needed again. We help Oregon couples draft prenups, postnups, and amendments with the seriousness the conversation deserves and the warmth the relationship calls for. Schedule a consultation to talk through what's right for your situation.