What Is a Louisiana Postnuptial Agreement?
A Louisiana postnuptial agreement lets couples decide how to settle finances and property if they divorce. A postnup is created after the spouses are already legally married. If you are planning to get married in Louisiana, consider a prenuptial agreement instead.
By creating a postnup, Louisiana couples may avoid lengthy court battles that cost time and money if they decide to separate. If you do not have a postnup in Louisiana, the courts default to community property laws (LA Civ. Code art. 2338). Community property means any property acquired by either spouse during the marriage belongs to both spouses, and it is divided equally upon divorce.
Although Louisiana law makes some exceptions to community property, it’s best not to assume they’ll apply to your situation. Instead, you can use a postnup to define which assets belong to each spouse. This can make property division simpler if you ever divorce.
A postnup must not contain provisions contrary to public policy to be enforceable in Louisiana. Spouses who move to Louisiana can enter into a postnup without court approval during the first year of their residence in the state. After that, the couple must jointly petition the court to approve a postnup before it will be considered legally valid (LA Civ. Code art. 2329).
The court ensures the spouses understand the legal principles at play and that the agreement is in both parties’ best interests (LA Civ. Code art. 2329).
How to Write a Postnuptial Agreement in Louisiana
By using the Legal Templates builder for a Louisiana postnuptial agreement, you can ensure the contract is complete and ready for court certification. Follow these steps:
- Identify the parties. List your names and addresses. Also, identify any children from the marriage and other relationships.
- Acknowledge full disclosure. Indicate that both spouses have given full and fair financial disclosure as part of the agreement.
- Allocate property. Identify whether property from before the marriage is community or separate property. Do the same for property acquired during the marriage. If you want to make exceptions for specific assets, note them here.
- Divide marital property. State whether you and your spouse choose to follow Louisiana state laws for community property division (LA Civ. Code art. 2801) or divide by a percentage or other means.
- Allocate businesses. If either spouse owns a business, identify how its ownership is to be allocated.
- Confirm responsibility for debts and taxes. Itemize debt and taxes owed before the marriage and acquired during it. Then, identify how the responsibility for those liabilities is to be assigned.
- Confirm housing arrangements. State how the marital home and household expenses will be allocated. You can make arrangements like allowing one spouse to keep living in the home before it is sold.
- Make arrangements for pets. Spouses can lay out who will be responsible for the family pets and decide on a co-guardianship arrangement. Some couples create a separate pet custody agreement.
- Decide on spousal support. Louisiana law has default provisions for interim (LA Civ. Code art. 113) and final periodic spousal support (LA Civ. Code art. 112). You can decide on your arrangements in a postnup and override these defaults.
- Insert final details. Enter a choice for dispute resolution (court, mediation, arbitration) and add any additional clauses that are right for your agreement.
- Print and review. Print and read over the agreement. Have both parties sign it.
Sample Louisiana Postnuptial Agreement
View a free Louisiana postnuptial agreement template to understand what it looks like. Then, create your own using our document builder. Download it in PDF or Word format.
Legal Requirements and Considerations for Louisiana Postnups
Postnuptial agreements must include full and fair financial disclosure. They must be fair to both parties, and the spouses must each understand how it impacts their legal rights. Louisiana postnups are matrimonial agreements subject to several provisions in the state’s civil code.
Signing Requirements
Private signatures acknowledged by the spouses are required for a postnup in Louisiana (LA Civ. Code art. 2331). In practice, this means both spouses could sign the agreement and have it certified by a notary.
Legal Representation
A postnuptial agreement impacts each spouse’s legal rights under Louisiana law. It’s recommended that each spouse have an independent legal review of the agreement. This ensures the contract is in their best interest and that either spouse can enforce it later.
Excluded Terms
Besides not including any terms that violate public policy (LA Civ. Code art. 2329), postnuptial agreements must not limit the legal rights of others, such as by changing the order of succession (LA Civ. Code art. 2330). A postnup generally cannot decide issues of child custody and child support, as those matters must be left to the court for determination upon divorce or legal separation.
Court Approval Requirement
The spouses must jointly petition the court to approve a postnuptial agreement. However, if a couple relocates to Louisiana from another state, the court approval requirement is waived if they create the agreement within the first 12 months of their residence in Louisiana (LA Civ. Code art. 2329). If court approval is required, the court ensures the spouses understand their rights and reviews the agreement for legality and fairness.
