Can Prenups Include Spousal Support Provisions?

Yes, a prenuptial agreement in Washington can address spousal support, also called spousal maintenance. Couples can limit it, waive it, or set the terms in advance, but there are real limits on what a court will enforce.

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What a Prenup Can Say About Maintenance

Spousal maintenance is the money one spouse may be ordered to pay the other after a divorce to help with the transition. Because it is a right that runs between the two spouses, they can agree in advance about how it will be handled if the marriage ends. A prenuptial agreement can waive maintenance entirely, so that neither spouse can seek support from the other. It can cap maintenance at a certain amount or a certain duration. It can also set maintenance affirmatively, providing for a defined payment for a defined period, sometimes tied to how long the marriage lasted. These arrangements give couples predictability and can take one of the most contested issues in a divorce off the table before it ever arises.

People choose to address maintenance in a prenup for many reasons. A spouse who is leaving a career to raise children may want assurance of support if the marriage ends. A spouse entering a second marriage later in life may want to make clear that neither party will look to the other for ongoing support. A higher-earning spouse may want to limit exposure to a long-term maintenance obligation. All of these are legitimate goals, and a well-drafted agreement can serve them.

The Fairness Test That Governs Enforcement

What a prenup says and what a court will enforce are not always the same thing. Washington has no statute laying out when a prenuptial agreement is valid, so the standards come from case law, principally In re Marriage of Matson, 107 Wn.2d 479 (1986). Under Matson, a court evaluating a prenup applies a two-part analysis. It first asks whether the agreement made a fair and reasonable provision for the spouse who is not seeking to enforce it. If it did, the agreement can be upheld on that ground. If it did not, the court turns to the second question and examines the fairness of the process behind the agreement: whether both parties fully disclosed their finances, whether each understood the rights they were giving up, whether each had the opportunity for independent legal advice, and whether the agreement was signed voluntarily rather than under pressure or on the eve of the wedding.

Maintenance waivers get particularly close attention under this framework. A provision that leaves one spouse with no support after a long marriage, during which that spouse gave up earning power, can look substantively unfair. When it does, the process matters even more. If the spouse who waived maintenance did so without full disclosure, without independent counsel, or under time pressure just before the ceremony, a court has grounds to refuse enforcement. Beyond the two-part test, Washington courts will not enforce a provision that is unconscionable, meaning so one-sided and unfair that enforcing it would shock the conscience. A maintenance waiver that was reasonable when signed but would leave a spouse destitute at divorce is exactly the kind of term a court may set aside.

The Line a Prenup Cannot Cross

There is one boundary a prenuptial agreement cannot cross: it cannot waive or limit child support. Child support belongs to the child, not to the parents, and parents cannot bargain it away in advance. A court retains the authority to set child support based on the children's needs and the statutory calculation, regardless of what the spouses agreed to before marriage. The same principle applies to decisions about a child's custody and residential schedule, which a court decides based on the child's best interests rather than the parents' prior contract. A prenup can shape the financial relationship between the two adults, but it cannot dictate what a child is owed.

Drafting Maintenance Terms That Hold Up

The way to make a maintenance provision durable is to build it to survive the Matson analysis from the start. Both parties should exchange full and honest financial disclosures. Each should have their own attorney, or at least a clear and documented opportunity to hire one. The agreement should be negotiated and signed well before the wedding, not sprung on one party in the final days. And the terms should be reasonable enough that, even years later, a court can see the provision as fair rather than as a trap. Some couples build in features like a maintenance floor or a provision that adjusts with the length of the marriage, precisely to keep the agreement from becoming unconscionable over time.

Couples in Snohomish County who want certainty about support obligations can accomplish a great deal with a carefully drafted prenuptial agreement, as long as it is done with fairness and full disclosure in mind. If you are thinking about how spousal maintenance should be handled in your own agreement, the Law Office of Chad Foster can help you craft terms that reflect your goals and stand up to scrutiny. Reach out to start the conversation.