Walking down the aisle soon? Congrats on your engagement! While we know you have tons on your to-do list, it’s worthwhile to consider a prenuptial agreement (prenup). A prenup is a contract between two people who plan to get married and want to outline their financial obligations. It’s meant to both protect individual financial interests and align your mutual goals. Prenuptial agreements can help facilitate marital harmony through having tough conversations required by the prenup process. And if you’re in Wyoming, there are some things you should know about getting a prenup—from the laws to what happens without one. So, without further ado, let’s get into everything you need to know about prenups in Wyoming.
1. Wyoming follows equitable distribution laws on property division
Without a prenup, the default law that applies to property division is called equitable distribution. This means that a court will divide assets equitably, not necessarily 50/50. In addition, the court may consider your premarital assets as part of the marital pot that gets divided up. This means that what you owned prior to marriage may be split up in a divorce.
With a prenup, you are able to override these laws and make sure your property is divided the way you and your partner want it to be. In addition, you can use a prenup to protect the assets that you came into the marriage with (a.k.a., your premarital assets).
2. Wyoming laws governing prenups
Let’s talk about what laws govern prenups in Wyoming and what you need to be aware of. For starters, Wyoming is one of the states that have not yet adopted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (UPAA) which is a uniform framework meant to create a uniform law on prenups across the U.S. Since Wyoming has not adopted the UPAA, it has its own laws mostly stemming from a patchwork of statutes and case law. The same laws that apply to general contracts also apply to prenups in Wyoming.
Here are the legal requirements to be aware of for a Wyoming prenup:
- Must be in writing and signed by both parties
- Must provide financial disclosure
- Must be entered into voluntarily by both parties (no duress or coercion)
- The agreement must not be unconscionable (i.e., must not be egregiously unfair)
These requirements are meant to ensure a fair agreement between parties and prohibit bad faith actors from taking advantage of their partner.
3. You can’t include certain terms
You are probably wondering what can and can’t go into your Wyoming prenup. Most financial topics are on the table for prenuptial agreements, as long as they are legal and not against any policy of the state. However, there are a few specific clauses you should steer clear from, including matters around child support and child custody. Child custody and support matters must be determined at the time of the divorce and based on the best interests of the children standard—not an agreement between the spouses.
For example, if a couple creates a prenuptial agreement 15 years prior to divorce, the child custody clauses might not make sense anymore (life changes a lot in 15 years). The clauses may not be in the child’s best interests so a court isn’t going to enforce this term just because the parents agreed to it.
4. Prenups can help strengthen your marriage
Prenuptial agreements do so much more than just protect individual assets. They can also strengthen your marriage by helping facilitate those tough conversations before walking down the aisle. Questions like:
- How will we handle joint bank accounts? (If at all)
- How will we separate out debt?
- How will we file taxes?
- Will either spouse be able to inherit from the other’s estate after the other dies?
- Who will own and manage certain assets?
- Who will own and manage certain businesses? Future businesses?
- Will we have children? If so, will one person stay home with the children? And should spousal support then be waived/not waived?
All of these questions pop up during the prenup process and help facilitate these tough (but important!) conversations. Walking into the marriage totally aligned on life and financial goals helps promote marital harmony and happiness.
5. Prenups in Wyoming can be amended
While a well-drafted prenup typically takes into account various life changes, such as future businesses, inheritances, and if one person becomes a stay-at-home parent, there are always some things that may necessitate a change to the prenup. For example, if you didn’t expect to grow and sell a $100 million dollar business, you may want to review your prenup and see if it still aligns with your intentions. Or maybe you lost a ton of money since you signed the prenup, and now the financial roles have reversed—it wouldn’t make sense for you to pay your spouse a lump sum anymore. And so on, so forth.
Generally, to amend a prenup in Wyoming, the agreement should follow the same formalities you followed to create the original agreement. This includes putting it in writing, signing it, providing fair financial disclosure, making sure the agreement is fair and that both parties entered into it voluntarily.
The bottom line on what to know about prenuptial agreements in Wyoming
As you can see, getting a prenuptial agreement in Wyoming isn’t scary; in fact, it’s quite easy! Just make sure you put it in writing, sign it, and make sure the agreement is fair and entered into voluntarily, and you’ll be good to go! And, remember, without a prenup, a court has the power to divide up your assets how it sees fit—and that includes your premarital assets. Prenups do more than just protect your individual financial interests, they can also help create a stronger foundation for your marriage by facilitating those tough conversations about money! So, get going on that prenup so you can cheers to a new beginning with your future spouse. Happy planning!
Rebecca is an experienced Wyoming Family Law attorney. She takes pride in getting to know her clients on a personal level to understand their unique needs and goals. By listening closely to what matters most to them, Rebecca is able to create customized agreements that offer financial protection not just in the event of a divorce, but also in the case of incapacity or death. With a focus on clarity and lasting security, Rebecca is dedicated to helping clients navigate one of life’s most important decisions with confidence and peace of mind.
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