Today I received a phone call from a client who wanted a prenuptial agreement. Her fiancé drew up a prenuptial agreement and gave it to her. Wants changes. Their wedding is on Saturday. It’s too late, I told him.

Section 1615 (c) (2) of the California Family Code clearly states that “A prenuptial agreement shall not be deemed to have been voluntarily enforced unless the court determines in writing or on the record all of the following: NO LESS THAN SEVEN ( 7) CALENDAR DAYS BETWEEN THE TIME THE AGREEMENT WAS FIRST PRESENTED AND ADVISED TO SEEK AN INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVISOR AND THE TIME THE AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED.

Obviously, this can be interpreted in a number of ways. I tend to be very protective of my clients, so my policy is that the FINAL AGREEMENT must be presented and accepted as final by all parties, then a 7 day waiting period, AND THEN they sign them. The signing can happen even on the wedding date, but to be safe, I recommend a week. This means that you must leave at least two (2) weeks before the wedding to have a final agreement.

THIS MEANS that you need to hire an attorney AT LEAST 4-6 weeks before your wedding, so the planning, drafting and negotiation can take place.

If you are planning a wedding, you should make your prenuptial agreement part of the process. It’s WHAT TO DO on your to-do list.

I turned down the prospect. I told him that the prenup is not good. Be wary of attorneys who will draft a prenuptial agreement 5 days before the wedding. You can also do it yourself on a piece of toilet paper and then throw it away.

For more information on prenuptial agreements, read my highly informative article on prenuptial agreements.