How to Write a Prenuptial Agreement
A prenuptial agreement records what each person brings to a marriage and what happens if it ends. Nigerian courts are not bound by it, but they can consider it.
What a pre nuptial agreement is
A prenuptial agreement is a contract made before marriage, setting out what each party brings to it and how property would be dealt with if the marriage ended.
Its standing in Nigeria needs stating plainly. These agreements are not expressly provided for in Nigerian matrimonial legislation, and a court dealing with the property of a marriage has a discretion it cannot be contracted out of. So a prenuptial agreement does not bind a Nigerian court the way a commercial contract binds parties.
That does not make it worthless. A court exercising a discretion looks at all the circumstances, and an agreement freely entered into, with full disclosure and independent advice on both sides, is a circumstance a court can weigh. It is evidence of what the parties intended, which is more than most couples can produce.
Its other function is more practical and often more valuable: it forces a conversation about money before the marriage rather than during its breakdown.
Who needs one
People marrying with significantly different assets, where one party brings property, a business or inherited wealth.
Anybody entering a second marriage, particularly with children from a first, who wants to protect provision for those children.
Business owners whose company could otherwise be drawn into a matrimonial dispute.
Couples where one party has substantial debt the other does not want to assume.
Where the marriage will be customary or Islamic rather than statutory, the position differs and specific advice is worth taking before relying on a template.
Before you start
Do these things or the agreement carries very little weight.
Make full disclosure of assets, income and debts on both sides. An agreement based on concealed assets is worth nothing.
Give both parties time. An agreement produced days before the wedding looks like pressure, and pressure is exactly what undermines it.
Arrange independent advice for each party, separately. Shared advice defeats the purpose.
Agree what is separate property and what will be shared.
And be realistic. An agreement leaving one spouse with nothing is the least likely to be given weight.
The walkthrough
Filling in the form, step by step
Every question you will be asked, what it means, and an example of a good answer.
Step 1 of 2
Pre Nuptial Agreement
The date and both spouses
The agreement names both parties and when it was made, and the date carries more significance here than in most documents.
Timing is one of the main things that determines whether an agreement is later given any weight. Signed months before the wedding, after both parties took advice, it looks like a considered arrangement. Signed the week before, with guests already travelling, it looks like one party had no realistic choice, and that perception undermines the whole document.
Name both parties fully, using the names on their identification. Where either will change their name on marriage, that is fine and the agreement stands on the names as at signing.
The addresses identify the parties and matter where they are domiciled in different states or countries, since that affects which law might apply if the marriage later broke down.
- Date of this agreement
- The date of signing. Timing matters more here than in most documents: an agreement signed well before the wedding reads as considered, while one signed days before reads as pressure and is far less likely to be given weight.
- Name of Spouse A
- The full legal name of the first party as it appears on their identification. Where a name will change on marriage, the agreement stands on the names as at signing.
- Address of Spouse A
- Their address at the date of the agreement. Where the parties are domiciled in different states or countries, note it, since it may affect which law applies to any later dispute.
- Name of Spouse B
- The full legal name of the second party, again as on their identification.
- Address of Spouse B
- Their address at the date of the agreement, for the same reason.
Step 2 of 2
Pre Nuptial Agreement
The wedding and the governing law
The closing step ties the agreement to the marriage and fixes the law.
The wedding date matters because a prenuptial agreement takes effect on marriage. If the marriage does not happen, the agreement generally falls away with it. Stating the intended date also reinforces the timing point: the gap between signing and the ceremony is itself evidence about whether the agreement was freely made.
On governing law, name the Nigerian state where the parties will live or where the marriage takes place. Matrimonial causes in Nigeria are heard in the High Court, and the applicable framework depends on whether the marriage is statutory under the Marriage Act or customary.
What this short form does not capture, and what a meaningful prenuptial agreement needs, is the substance: a schedule of each party's assets and debts, a statement of what remains separate property, what will be treated as joint, how property acquired during the marriage is treated, and confirmation that both parties made full disclosure and took independent advice.
Without those, the agreement records who is marrying and when, and very little else. If this document is worth making at all, it is worth attaching that detail.
- Date of the proposed wedding
- The intended wedding date. The agreement takes effect on marriage and generally falls away if the marriage does not happen. The gap between signing and this date is also evidence about whether the agreement was freely made.
- State laws that would govern this agreement
- The Nigerian state whose law governs, normally where the parties will live or where the marriage takes place. Note whether the marriage is statutory under the Marriage Act or customary, since the frameworks differ.
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Attach full financial disclosure
A schedule of assets, income and debts for each party. An agreement made without disclosure is the easiest kind for a court to disregard entirely.
Get separate legal advice
Each party should take their own advice from their own adviser. Shared advice, or none, is one of the main reasons these agreements carry no weight.
Sign well before the wedding
Weeks or months, not days. An agreement signed with guests already arriving looks like pressure, and that perception undermines everything else in it.
Review it as circumstances change
Children, a business sale or a substantial inheritance change the picture. An agreement that no longer reflects the marriage carries less weight than one that does.
Questions people ask
Are prenuptial agreements enforceable in Nigeria?
They do not bind a Nigerian court the way a commercial contract binds parties, since the court has a discretion over matrimonial property it cannot be contracted out of. A court can, however, take a properly made agreement into account.
What makes a prenuptial agreement more likely to be respected?
Full financial disclosure on both sides, independent legal advice for each party, signing well before the wedding, and terms that are not obviously unfair to one party.
When should we sign it?
Weeks or months before the wedding. An agreement signed days beforehand, with the ceremony imminent, looks like one party had no real choice, and that undermines it.
Do we both need our own lawyer?
Yes, separately. Shared advice defeats the purpose, and the absence of independent advice is one of the most common reasons these agreements are given little weight.
What should the agreement actually contain?
A schedule of each party's assets and debts, what remains separate property, what is treated as joint, how property acquired during the marriage is handled, and confirmation of disclosure and independent advice.
Does it apply to a customary or Islamic marriage?
The position differs from a statutory marriage under the Marriage Act. Take specific advice rather than relying on a template drafted with statutory marriage in mind.
Documents that go with this
Terms used on this page
Prenuptial Agreement
A prenuptial agreement is a contract made before marriage setting out how assets would be dealt with if the marriage ends. In Nigeria it is not automatically binding, but courts can take it into account.
Marriage
Marriage in Nigeria comes in three forms: statutory, customary and Islamic. They are governed by different laws, dissolved by different courts, and they produce different rights over property and inheritance.
Divorce
Divorce is the legal ending of a marriage by court order. In Nigeria there is only one ground, that the marriage has broken down irretrievably, and it has to be proved by one of the facts the law lists.
Settlement Agreement
A settlement agreement records the terms on which a dispute ends, including what is paid and what claims are given up. It is the cheapest way to end most disputes and the most commonly rushed.
Estate
An estate is everything a person owned when they died, less what they owed. It has to be gathered, the debts paid, and only what remains is distributed to the people entitled.
Will
A will is a legal document setting out who gets your property when you die and who should administer it. Without one, Nigerian intestacy rules decide, and the outcome is often not what anybody wanted.
Guardianship
Guardianship is legal responsibility for a child who is not your own, or for an adult who cannot manage their own affairs. For parents, the point of it is naming in advance who takes care of your children if you are not there.
Next of Kin
Next of kin is the person you name on a form as your closest relative and first point of contact. In Nigeria it is widely believed to decide who inherits your property. It does not.
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