How Do I Find a Good Prenup Attorney?

Look for a family-law attorney licensed in the state whose law will govern your agreement who regularly drafts and negotiates premarital agreements, and plan for each partner to have their own lawyer. Start well before the wedding, check the lawyer's bar standing and any family-law certification, and ask how they handle financial disclosure and the timing rules that can affect whether a prenup holds up.

Why separate lawyers and timing matter

The rules vary by state. California is a useful example of how strict they can be. Under California Family Code §1615, a court treats a premarital agreement as not signed voluntarily unless, among other things:

- the person challenging it had independent legal counsel when signing, or waived counsel in a separate writing after being advised to get one, with that advice given at least seven calendar days before signing; and
- for agreements signed on or after January 1, 2020, that person had at least seven calendar days between first seeing the final agreement and signing it.

The same section also lets a court refuse to enforce an agreement that was unconscionable when signed if the challenging party didn't get fair, reasonable and full financial disclosure.

What this means in practice: hire early, exchange financial disclosures early, and don't sign at the last minute.

How to find and vet a prenup lawyer

1. Start with bar referral services. The ABA's Lawyer Referral Directory lists state and local bar referral programs by city and state.
2. Check licensure and discipline on your state bar's attorney lookup.
3. Look for family-law depth. Some states certify lawyers as specialists. In Florida, Marital and Family Law certification requires at least five years of practice, 50% or more of practice in the specialty, at least 25 contested family-law cases including seven trials, 75 hours of specialty CLE, peer review and a written exam.
4. Treat AAML Fellowship as one signal, not a requirement. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers requires Fellows to have at least seven years at the bar, 75% or more of their practice in family law for five years, substantial trial experience as lead counsel, and judge and peer references. Where a state offers family-law board certification, applicants must hold it first.
5. Ask prenup-specific questions in the first consultation.
6. Make sure your partner hires a separate lawyer. One attorney can't advise both sides of the negotiation.

Questions to ask in the consultation

- How many premarital agreements do you draft or negotiate in a typical year?
- Which state's law will govern our agreement, and why?
- What financial disclosure do you require, and when?
- How do you handle a family business, trusts, inheritances or future earnings?
- What timeline do you recommend from first draft to signing?
- If we want changes after the wedding, how would a postnuptial agreement work?

Red flags

- Pressure to sign quickly or without full disclosure
- One lawyer offering to "represent you both"
- Vague answers about which state's law applies

Related reading

See also: What is a prenup, and who needs one?; How prenups work for high-net-worth couples; What is a postnuptial agreement?; How to choose a divorce attorney; Can a prenuptial agreement be challenged?

Browse Haute Lawyer family law attorneys, including Joanne Ratinoff in Los Angeles and Aaron M. Reimer in Houston.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Prenuptial agreement law differs by state. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state about your situation.